Prophecies Suck II
by Vlad-the-Impish
Summary: Sequel to Prophecies Suck. Xander finds out that even in death his life can be messed with, and this time the stakes are as high as they can get. Has he told you yet that he hates prophecies?
1. Prologue

Title: Prophecies Suck II: All Or Nothing

Author: VladtheImpish

Rating: 15/R (if you're old enough to see the shows/movies, you're old enough to read this story.)

Summary: Sequel to Prophecies Suck. Xander finds out that even in death his life can be messed with, and this time the stakes are as high as they can get. Has he told you yet that he hates prophecies?

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the TV shows, movies, books or comics that the characters in this story come from, nor will I ever own them. The people to hold that honour are far too many to mention, and all are richer and more powerful than myself. All I get from writing this story is a sense of satisfaction and RSI, and probably not in that order.

Warnings: Character Death(s)!!

**Prophecies Suck II: All Or Nothing**

_**Prologue**_

Xander walked out of yet another meeting with his fellow Powers with a scowl on his face, once again wondering who he'd pissed off in a former life to be stuck doing what he was doing in his afterlife.

A few months ago Earth-Time Xander had died, fulfilling a prophecy that allowed the Earth to keep spinning on its axis for another day. While he hadn't given a great deal of thought to what would happen to him when his life was at an end, he'd always kinda hoped that he'd be at peace.

He should have known better.

When he'd reached his final destination Xander had been surprised, thinking that the chances of a demon actually ending up in Heaven were less than Andy Dick winning the Best Actor Oscar. Not that Xander was complaining, far from it, he had just been surprised and pleasantly so.

That would be the last pleasant surprise he'd receive.

First of all, when Xander had reached the pearly gates he had been told that they really didn't know what to do with him, as his upward journey had been as much of a surprise to Peter and the others as it had been to him. At Xander's affronted look, Peter had gone on to explain that it hadn't been the first time that a demon had been admitted into heaven, it was just that they just hadn't expected **him**.

Xander had gotten even more miffed at that, thinking that they didn't believe he was worthy of gaining entrance into Heaven, until Peter and Michael, who turned up because he was always interested in speaking with a fellow warrior, had explained that it wasn't so much a surprise that he had earned his place, more that he'd arrived when he had, because as far as Peter's book was concerned they weren't expecting him for a good 150 years.

When Xander had explained the circumstances for his supposedly early arrival, there'd been a collective sigh among the Archangels, who had all gathered round as news of Xander's early arrival travelled the celestial grapevine, followed by a very animalistic growl from Michael, who'd then begun spewing a vast array of expletives, in languages that even Xander was unaware of, for the best part of an hour.

It turned out that the PTB, or Powers That Be, had decided that Xander was starting to interfere in their plans too much, and had created the prophecy and the sword of Avalon as a way of removing him from the playing field. He'd actually been powerful enough to kill Glory without the sword; Xander would have been as weak as a kitten for a few days from the effort, but otherwise he would have been okay.

On hearing that, Xander had gone on a little rant himself, impressing Michael both with his range of languages and his imaginative way of stringing his expletives together.

His almost god-like power had admittedly been a factor in why Xander had been allowed in Heaven, as She hadn't wanted someone with as much power as he had to fall into the hands of Lucifer, but it had been how he had lived that had determined his final resting place. His power wasn't something that couldn't be ignored, however, which led them back to the fact they didn't know what to do with him.

Xander simply had too much power to just hang around and enjoy himself, much to his disappointment, but there wasn't exactly a position open that he could fill. He had tried to tell them that he was more than happy to just sit around, but the looks Xander had received pretty much told him that wasn't an option.

Eventually, She stepped in and decided that, as it was due to the Powers that he'd been robbed of over a century of his life, it was only right that he himself became a Power. More than that, he was put in charge of reviewing the way they did things, with the authority to make any changes as he saw fit.

There had of course been an uproar over the decision, both from the Powers and from the other side, stating that it tilted the balance of power. When the arguments became a little too annoying for Her, She stated in very clear terms that the decision was made and would not be unmade. When they realised what had nearly happened the **last** time someone tried to show She'd made a mistake, both sides instantly quietened down.

Xander had immediately used his position to get Faith out of jail, as he'd soon found out the Powers had a hand in her downward spiral as well. He didn't however make it easy for her; he knew that she had to earn her second chance, even if her first chance had been stacked against her, if only to prove that she was deserving of it.

To that end, he'd instigated a prison riot, putting Faith in the position where she could either join the others in trying to escape, or protect the medical staff that had been cornered by several inmates. Faith had made the right choice and two weeks after the riot had been dealt with, she'd been given early parole. She was now with Angel in LA, helping him keep the demon levels down.

When Xander had seen what one of the Powers had originally planned for Angel before his interference, Xander had been extremely glad that he'd killed the demon inside and anchored his soul. With Darla out of the picture, all he had to do was deal with Cordelia's vision problems and he'd make sure that the Power that would have been called Jasmine never got a chance to make her presence known to the world. The Power in question had bitched and moaned about having her second chance to bring peace and love to the world taken from her and had left the meeting in a rage, never to return.

Xander's actions before his death had pretty much ensured that the other people that would have been affected by the Powers meddling were safe, or as safe as they could be with the lives they led, with one exception.

Buffy.

She'd taken his death hard, his letter to her helping her slightly but not enough. He was the second person she'd loved that had died saving the world, and she blamed herself for it. She'd always had a tendency to put the problems of the world onto her shoulders, which in a way came with the territory for a Slayer, but Buffy would take things far too much to heart, and it seemed that this was no different.

She now thought that her love was a curse, and unfortunately she had two prime examples to base it on; her love for Angel had brought forth Angelus, and her love for him had sent him to his death.

The others had done as much as they could, which had been aided greatly when Angel had kept his promise and had gone with the rest of the Fang Gang to Sunnydale to help out for a while, but Buffy had slowly but surely begun to sink further and further into a depression, barely acknowledging anyone except on patrol.

Xander fervently hoped that, as time went on, Buffy would begin to get better, but it hurt him to see her so unlike the Buffy he loved, especially when he couldn't be there to help.

Xander's problems only increased when, a week ago, an Archangel had found a previously non-existent prophecy concerning the founder of the Scooby Gang. Xander had tried his best to avoid it, but they'd eventually cornered him and gave him the parchment to read.

_**'The creature of darkness that becomes a Power for light will become the catalyst for the war to end all wars.**_

_**He must team with the Champions of Earth to combat the forces of darkness that threaten Earth and the Celestial plane.'**_

It had taken time to authenticate, as even She had been unaware of it until that point, and boy did that cause a lot of people to panic when that got out, but once it had, Xander was given the celestial form of a blank cheque, with orders to do whatever was necessary to ensure both Earth's and Heaven's safety. Only one thought had been going through his mind since then.

"_I hate prophecies."_


	2. Chapter 1: It's All About The Jacksons

**Prophecies Suck II - All Or Nothing**

_**Chapter One - It's All About The Jackson's**_

Daniel Jackson, former member of SG-1 and now ascended being, was being almost overwhelmed by two emotions; boredom and helplessness.

When he had ascended after the Kelowna incident, he had thought that he would travel the galaxy, learning new things and helping those that needed helping, particularly Jack and the others in their fight with the Goa'uld.

Boy, had he been mistaken.

Yes, he'd learnt new things, but it was all second-hand knowledge that he'd acquired at the moment of ascension. Daniel was thankful to have received the knowledge certainly, but by not acquiring it himself through exploration and discovery, it felt hollow to him. He had always enjoyed the journey of learning as much as the destination, and therefore felt cheated that he hadn't needed to do that.

The big problem Daniel had found, almost from the moment he'd ascended, was that he was forbidden from directly interfering with any being that wasn't also ascended. Thousands upon thousands of planets inhabits by billions upon billions of lifeforms and he wasn't allowed to help a single one of them.

Not only had they cheated him on how he'd gained the knowledge, but he had also been cheated out of his passion for sharing knowledge as well.

He'd managed to find a way to help Jack during his ordeal with Ba'al, even if it hadn't been the way he'd intended, but it was nowhere near the amount of help he'd desperately wanted to provide, and what little help he had given was frowned upon by everyone apart from Oma herself.

The same thing happened with Teal'c; Daniel had wanted nothing more than to heal both him and Bra'tac when they were stranded with only a single symbiote between the two of them to survive, but he could do no more than keep him company in his dreams.

The only reason The Others had taken no further action in either case, so Oma had told him, was due to either their being alone when he went to them, or the way in which he'd appeared. Both Jack and Teal'c could pass off their encounter with him as wishful thinking at best, hallucination at worst, and in neither case had he been of any direct help, only nudging people towards certain answers that they would have eventually figured out on their own anyway.

Daniel had found out how far they would go to stop him from helping people when he had attempted to assist Sam during her ordeal at the hands of Nirrti; they'd actually put a block on his being able to go anywhere near her or the planet she was on to ensure he didn't interfere and, when he'd tried to help by going to the SGC, they'd banished him to the confines of their realm, which within his mind he perceived as a fifties style diner.

It was a punishment they hadn't yet decided to overturn, which was why he was sitting at a booth in the far corner, feeling like they were treating him like some unruly child.

Daniel had considered trying to go back to being human, but he'd found his knowledge on that particular subject sorely lacking. Whether it was because if he did he'd wind up in the same dying body he left, or because they knew he'd consider it and withheld the information he didn't know, but the fact remained that Daniel was stuck where he was, sipping imaginary coffee from an imaginary mug inside an imaginary diner, going out of his imaginary mind.

Daniel was brought out of his reflection by the sound of a bell, indicating that someone was coming in through the front door of the 'diner'. That hadn't really surprised him, as there had been a steady stream of traffic all the time that he'd been stuck there, but what had surprised him was that everyone had turned to look in their direction. Another reason he was feeling so bored was that the others had decided to give him the silent treatment and barely acknowledged his presence, or that of anyone else for that matter.

"Afternoon ladies and gents," the new guy said in way of greeting, another thing that surprised the ex-archaeologist, "I'm looking for a Dr. Daniel Jackson."

At the man's declaration, every set of eyes turned to him, and Daniel felt the sudden need to swallow. Never being someone to hide away, at least since he'd met Jack at least, he cleared his throat and stood up slowly.

"I'm Daniel Jackson," he said nervously.

"Sweet!" The man exclaimed as he walked over to him with a large smile on his face, before offering his hand in greeting. "My name's Alexander Harris, although please call me Xander. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Daniel took his offered hand, relishing the contact and acknowledgement of another person. "While I'm sure that it's a pleasure shared, I'm afraid I don't know enough to give a definitive answer."

Daniel winced internally, thinking he'd put his foot in it with the only person apart from Oma who'd spare him the time of day, but all Xander did in response was laugh. "I never thought I'd meet an American version of Giles."

Xander sat down at the booth and Daniel followed suit, completely confused by what was going on and revelling in it. This was the first time since he'd ascended that he'd felt like himself and he was going to savour every moment.

"What's a Giles?" Daniel asked once they were seated.

"It's a who actually," Xander corrected. "He's someone I know, well knew, before I took the up escalator a few months ago."

"You ascended?" Daniel asked, more intrigued by the second.

"Not exactly, but close enough," Xander replied. "I hear that you got your fellow squids' panties in a bunch by daring to help your best friend. How could you even consider **doing** such a thing?" he asked mock seriously.

It was clear by the tone in Xander's voice what he thought of the situation, and by the way he'd said his comments loudly enough for everyone to hear, he wasn't worried about letting the others know.

"I don't know what got into me," Daniel went on, taking advantage of the situation to get his own feelings across concerning the matter, "I must not have left my sense of right and wrong behind when I ascended I guess."

They smiled at each other before Xander turned serious.

"If I'd've known what was going on I would've done something," Xander told him, his tone apologetic, "but I've been kept pretty busy recently."

"You couldn't have done any more than I could," Daniel told the, seemingly, younger man, although it was nice to hear, "Oma made it pretty clear that we aren't to interfere."

"I work to a different playbook Dr. Jackson," Xander informed him seriously, which explained to Daniel, at least in part, why he was allowed to act the way he was.

"Call me Daniel," the archaeologist requested, garnering a smile from his companion.

"Okay, Daniel. I won't bore you with the details, but there isn't a damn thing any of those jumped up jellyfish could do to stop me even if they wanted to."

"Oh you wouldn't bore me Xander; I like details, details are good," Daniel replied eagerly.

"**Definitely** a Giles," Xander sighed, but smiled to show he meant no offence. "Before I get into everything, including the reason I came to look for you, how would you like to get out of here?" he asked.

"There's hardly anything I'd like more," he replied fervently.

"Great! In that case…" Xander clicked his fingers and in a flash of light they were no longer in the diner and instead were outside a very familiar looking house.

"What are we doing outside Sam's house?" Daniel asked in shock, having thought he would never get another chance to see her.

Xander shrugged. "I thought you'd want to see how she is."

Daniel smiled in gratitude and went to walk up the path, but stopped suddenly. "How can I just knock on her door like I haven't been gone for almost a year?" he asked.

"I'm sure she'd love to see you," Xander assured him, seeing how much Daniel wanted to see her. "She knows that you aren't really dead; between Colonel O'Neill telling them of his little conversation with you the day you left, and the pretty light show they witnessed as you made the transition, they all know that you ascended."

Daniel had to concede the point. While he was certain that they'd all grieved his passing as though he were dead, it would have been difficult not to given the circumstances, both Teal'c and Jack seemed to have been happy to see him during their encounters. That didn't stop him from feeling nervous, it was Sam after all.

"Still," Daniel said, his tone showing his indecision, "I can't just turn up unannounced."

"You did to Teal'c and the Colonel," Xander pointed out not unfairly, "are they more deserving of a visit?"

"Of **course** not!" Daniel snapped, looking apologetic almost immediately.

"If you're worried about it being a fleeting visit, don't be," Xander assured.

"Why is that?" he asked.

Daniel knew the rules as well as anyone; he didn't like them, but he knew what they were, and he knew that repeat visitations were forbidden unless under the most dire of circumstances. Popping in to see how she was would definitely **not** be what they meant.

"I guess the best way of putting this is that you've been given a transfer," Xander replied, smiling slightly.

"What?"

"You no longer answer to Oma or her floating buddies," Xander explained, "in fact, you don't have to answer to **anyone** anymore, but there would have to be a cap on what you're capable of if that's what you decide."

"Again, what?" Daniel hated the way he was sounding, but he simply didn't have the faintest idea what the man was on about.

"Speak to the Major first; I give you my word I'll explain it all to you later."

Daniel stared at Xander for a beat, trying to gauge his sincerity. He couldn't sense any duplicity, so he smiled once again and this time made it all the way to Sam's door and knocked twice before he had a chance to change his mind. He only had to wait a few moments before the door opened, revealing a sleepy but otherwise fine Samantha Carter.

"Hel…" the greeting got lost as she looked into the face of her closest friend, the first time she'd had the pleasure for almost a year. "Daniel?" she asked in a whisper, almost afraid that speaking any louder would somehow change what she was seeing.

"Hi Sam," he replied softly, sending her a small apprehensive smile.

Daniel really couldn't think of anything else to say, the woman in front of him had always been one of the few people that could render him tongue-tied, even if she didn't know it. Seeing her now only intensified how much he'd missed her and before he knew what he was doing, he was drawing her into his arms and enveloping her in an almost bone crushing hug, a hug that she more than reciprocated.

"God I've missed you, you have no idea how much," Sam sobbed into his chest, not caring that her usually calm exterior had disappeared. Daniel was the only person she'd felt comfortable enough around to freely express her emotions since her mother died, which only made her miss him that much more.

"Almost as much as I've missed you I'm sure," he assured her fervently. They stayed that way for several minutes, neither moving nor wanting to let the other go. Eventually, Daniel decided to bring up her recent 'adventure'. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you Sam; I should have been there to stop Nirrti from doing what she did."

She pulled away from him reluctantly so she could look him in the eyes. "You know what happened?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, I tried to come and help, but I was prevented from doing so." When she didn't reply, he took that to mean that she didn't believe him. "You have to believe that I would have done **anything** to prevent Nirrti from hurting you if I could."

"I know Daniel, I never thought differently," she assured him.

Sam wasn't being **entirely** truthful there, as for a single moment during her ordeal she had doubted whether Daniel would have come if he could, but the thought was squashed so quickly and forcefully that she'd actually felt bad for thinking it in the first place.

Daniel could see she was being sincere and breathed a sigh of relief, strengthening his hold on her slightly, a move that she returned in kind. After another minute or so, Sam looked over Daniel's shoulder and spotted Xander standing there, watching the two of them with an expression of sadness and longing.

"Daniel, who's your friend?" she asked.

At his inquisitive look, Sam indicated behind her and he remembered who brought him here. As Daniel turned round, Xander took it as his cue and made his way over to them.

"Oh, Major Doctor Samantha Carter, I'd like you to meet Alexander Harris."

"Please, call me Xander," he said as he got closer, "all my friends do."

Xander extended his hand, a greeting Sam returned, but she didn't release her hold on Daniel, something that Xander noticed and caused him to suppress a smile. He could see that there was more between them than either realised, but it wasn't something he would mention until he came to know them both better. The smile was bittersweet, however, as it also gave him a reminder of the woman he'd left behind when he died.

"Nice to meet you, would you like to come in?" Sam asked politely, taking Daniel's ease around him as a vote of confidence.

Xander winced at the invitation, knowing how dangerous such a thing could be if given to the wrong person.

"That would be lovely," he replied, "but you should be careful who you invite into your home, they might not be as lovable as Daniel or myself."

"I'll take that under advisement," she told him, although Xander could tell that she thought that there wasn't a situation that would arise that she couldn't handle. Given the work that she did, Xander didn't really blame her, but overconfidence can easily lead to a person's downfall.

Sam led Daniel into the house, still unwilling to relinquish her hold on him, and Xander followed them in a pace or two behind, allowing his smile to appear. Wanting to maintain their closeness, Sam and Daniel sat together on the couch, with Xander taking the chair to their right, his calm façade slipping back into place.

"Are you sure you're okay Sam?" Daniel asked again, noticing the careful way she sat down.

"Yeah," she told him with a smile, although she went on after seeing the look he was throwing her way, "a little sore maybe, but otherwise I'm fine."

Xander could see that Daniel wanted to use his abilities to heal her, but was still worried about the repercussions of his actions. Knowing what happened to Orlin, another squid that stepped out of line, he wasn't surprised, so he decided to remind him that he wasn't bound by those rules any longer.

"Go ahead Daniel," he told him, "I told you that you don't have to worry about Oma or the others anymore, and I'm more than happy that you want to use your abilities to help."

"Daniel?" Sam said enquiringly, wondering what they were talking about.

"I can heal you," he told her, "if you're willing."

"I trust you," was her immediate reply.

Smiling warmly at her, Daniel placed one hand on her shoulder and one on her head before closing his eyes and concentrating. After a moment Sam was enveloped in a white glow and soon all of her pain is gone, as was the glow a moment later. Daniel opened his eyes and looked into Sam's, her gratitude and happiness was plain for all to see.

"Thank you," she said sincerely.

"It was the least I could do," Daniel said with a shrug.

"No," Sam argued, "the least you could do was sit there and do nothing, something I doubt you'd ever be able to do."

Daniel looked down as he blushed slightly, never having felt all that comfortable receiving compliments. Daniel suddenly looked at Xander.

"How was I able to touch Sam?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Xander asked in turn, confused by the question given that they've barely let each other go since they got there.

"I was unable to touch anyone on this realm before," Daniel told him, "until you shook my hand earlier, I hadn't actually touched anything since I ascended."

"Think of it as another perk of not being a part of their… collective, I suppose works as well as anything else. I'm surprised you didn't ask me before, given that you two have been hugging and touching each other almost constantly since we got here."

Both Sam and Daniel blushed at that remark, but Xander was surprised when they didn't break apart. They must both be more secure in their feelings for the other than he originally thought, or they were both suffering from serious cases of denial.

"What is he talking about Daniel?" Sam asked.

"I don't actually know."

Sam looked at Daniel in surprise; that particular sentence was a very rare thing to come from his mouth.

"If you don't mind Sam finding out the same time as yourself," Xander said, "I could explain it now. Of course, as it's pretty late in the evening it might be best left until tomorrow."

Sam and Daniel looked at each other and smiled slightly, both thinking the same thing.

"If it's all the same to you I'd rather find out now," Daniel told him. "Neither Sam or myself have ever been able to get a good nights sleep when there's something on our minds, and you've given us both enough titbits to pique our curiosity."

"Alright. I'll start off by telling you a bit more about myself. Before I died a few months ago…"

"Wait, you died?" Daniel asked, interrupting him. "You didn't ascend like I did?"

"No, and I'll get to that in a minute. I lived in a town in California called Sunnydale, which was known in many circles as the Boca Del Inferno."

"Mouth of Hell?" Daniel said, translating the name into English. "I know California has a bad reputation, but that's a bit harsh."

"Not if it's true," he replied.

Xander sighed at the look they both give him, knowing that it was going to be nigh on impossible for these two to believe in the supernatural without some sort of proof. They might have travelled to other planets and encountered aliens, but demons would still be seen as impossible. What was worse was that he couldn't use what he could do as proof, as Daniel can do many of the same things. He had to change his tactics.

"Alright, we're going to have to go on a little trip before I continue my explanation," he told them both.

"Why?" they both asked at the same time, which caused the pair to look and smile at each other for a moment before turning their attention back to Xander.

"Because until we do, you won't believe what I have to tell you and I don't have a whole lot of time to convince you," Xander replied.

"Okay, so where are we going and what are we going to do when we get there?" Sam asked, a little suspicious but willing to go along.

"Where we're going is Memorial Park. As to the other question, I have one of my own; do you believe in vampires?"

* * *

**Palmer Park, Colorado Springs.**

Both Daniel and Sam watched completely dumbstruck as Xander staked yet another vampire in the heart, watching as it turned to dust and blew away in the wind.

Xander had allowed himself to be felt on demonic radar a little once they'd arrived in the park, and the temptation of taking on a Higher Being was too much for the fangy community to resist and had flocked to him like moths to a flame, giving him ample opportunity to prove to the two scientists that vampires did indeed exist.

He'd equipped both of them with the essentials; a few stakes, a few vials of holy water, and a cross each, and had allowed one or two vamps to get past him to tackle the pair. They hadn't had much trouble, what with Daniel's new status and Sam's military training, but they'd had enough to ensure they realised that what they were dealing with was very real, and as dangerous to Earth as the Goa'uld.

"If you weren't sure," Xander said as he finished off the last vampire stupid enough to stay around, "those were vampires."

Realising that his point had been well and truly made, Xander clicked his fingers and the three of them appeared in Sam's living room. He didn't need to click his fingers, but he'd always liked it when Q from Star Trek did it, and it felt right to do. Seeing that Sam had a few scrapes and bruises, Xander decided to heal them for her, as much to show that he could as because he wanted to.

"Thank you," she said after he'd finished.

"Not a problem. I know that seemed like an extreme way of proving my point," he said, feeling a little guilty that she had been hurt, "but there really isn't a better way of showing you than to experience it for yourself."

"I'm a scientist, I know all about having to have hard facts in order to prove a theory," she told him, her tone showing that she accepted his implied apology.

Xander nodded and turned to Daniel. "Daniel, you might want to do something about those injuries you've got."

"I know; how did that happen anyway?" he asked, not expecting to be hurt.

"You ducked when you should have weaved?" The look Xander was given by Daniel and Sam was enough to convince Xander he needed to give a better explanation. "You're in human form, and humans get injured. If you want to fix them, you can either heal yourself, or simply revert to your ascended form and back again. Just so you know, if you get killed in human form, you'll automatically revert to your ascended state. This doesn't mean you're invulnerable, as ascended beings can be killed as well, but it does give you a slight advantage."

Daniel took Xander's advice and healed himself, finding that he had to put more effort into it than he had when healing Sam.

"Ready for my explanation now?" All Xander received is two nods as both Sam and Daniel as they dropped bonelessly onto the couch. "Alright. The world is older than you know…"

* * *

Xander 'woke' at sunrise, being dead pretty much negated the need for rest unless he really overexerted himself, and decided to make himself useful by making breakfast for the Major and Daniel. 

Xander knew that for Daniel to be around his friends, but be unable to interact physically with them would be torturous, so he had tweaked him a little. The archaeologist had soon found out that, when he was in human form, he was human in every respect, which meant he needed everything that a normal human required. It was the only way for Daniel to look like himself and be corporeal, given that ascended beings had no physical form.

Xander had told Daniel that all he needed to do was revert back to his 'jellyfish' form and things like hunger and sleep wouldn't be a factor, but Daniel had missed the little things that he'd previously taken for granted, and had decided to get a semi-decent nights sleep in Sam's guestroom, his first for almost a year.

Xander himself had rarely needed sleep before his death, so it really wasn't something he'd missed, although food most definitely was. He could eat and drink if he wanted, as his body could still taste and process it, but he didn't need to for sustenance, another factor of death he'd gotten used to. Xander did know that if he didn't eat or drink anything around the others they'd feel uncomfortable, so he decided to make enough for all of them.

Fifteen minutes later, as he was just about to inform the others that breakfast was ready, Xander heard footfalls on the stairs and saw both Daniel and Sam appear, both looking sleepy but rested. They'd both made a beeline for the coffee machine and poured themselves a mug, perking up slightly as the caffeine started to do it's job.

"Boy, I'd drunk a lot of coffee in that Diner," Daniel commented after another swallow of coffee, "but nothing beats the real thing."

"Just remember to take it easy," Xander warned his friend. "That is the first **real** mug of coffee you've had in almost a year. I know you used to virtually treat coffee as a food group before you ascended, but at the moment your body is completely toxin free; if you drink at the same rate as you used to, you're going to be so wired that they'd probably be able to run the Stargate off you."

"I doubt the General would mind, powering the Gate is one of the largest expenditures," Sam commented with a smile.

"But I'm sure that the General would like to talk to Daniel without having to tape his side of the conversation and play it in slow motion just to make out what he was saying," Xander joked.

"Good point."

"You do realise it isn't nice to talk about someone like they're not in the room," Daniel said with a not very convincing glare.

Xander and Sam looked at each other for a moment before turning to him and answering together.

"Yes."

"Just checking," Daniel sighed in defeat.

The conversation dried up as their hunger made itself known. Xander served up the food and they all sit at the table to eat. Sam looked on in mild amusement at the looks of pure bliss that appeared on the faces of Xander and Daniel, both tasting their first real meal in some time.

Anyone that knew Xander from before his death would have marvelled at both the leisurely speed in which he was eating, and the almost impeccable table manners he was using. He was pretty stunned himself, but figured that, as he wasn't actually getting anything from eating, there was no need to wolf it down.

Once breakfast was over they made short work of cleaning everything up and got to work on how to broach the subject of demons to General Hammond and the others.

"I actually have something to do while I'm in the area, there is someone I need to speak to who lives close by," Xander told them, "so I thought that Daniel might be the best choice to enlighten everyone at the SGC."

"Why me?" Daniel asked.

"Well, for one thing, I'm sure that they'll all be happy to see you," Xander replied, garnering smiles from both Daniel and Sam. "I know by now that you've remembered enough myths and legends to substantiate what you're about to tell them," he continued, "and the clincher is that they'll trust you a **helluvalot** more than they'll trust me."

"True," Daniel agreed, knowing that it would take a lot longer to convince the General and the others if it were Xander that explained everything.

"If you need further proof, there was a military operation in my home town a couple of years ago going by the name the Initiative," Xander told the pair. "Until they decided to go all Mary Shelley on us, they were charged with learning more about the strengths and weakness of the various types of demons, or Hostile Subterraneans as they called them, to work out how to either kill or control them, the latter more than the former."

"Who do you need to see in the area?" Sam asked, wondering whom someone of Xander's reported status would need to speak to in Colorado.

"I suppose you could call him an illegal alien," Xander told her, his tongue firmly in cheek.

* * *

**Stargate Command, Cheyenne Mountain.**

Sam felt uncomfortable entering the base so late, as if she were meant to be there she'd be at least three minutes late. Knowing that Janet would have probably ordered the airmen at the entrance to inform her if she arrived today, having ordered her not to be on base until at least tomorrow, Sam quickened her pace through the corridors to General Hammond's office.

When she got to his door however, Sam was half hoping that the General wouldn't be there, knowing that he'd no doubt order her to the infirmary once they'd talked anyway. Knowing it was silly for a Major in the Air Force to be worried about knocking on her Commanding Officer's door, she knocked twice before she could talk herself out of it.

"Come in," the General said from behind the door.

Biting back a sigh, Sam opened the door and walked in.

Hammond looked up from the seemingly endless paperwork that crossed his desk and was somewhat surprised to see the Major standing there. "Major Carter? I thought Dr. Fraiser signed you off until tomorrow?" he asked.

Hammond of course knew full well that she'd been practically forced at gunpoint by the doctor to go home, with various threats, both veiled and direct, concerning the consequences of she were to step foot inside the mountain. His Chief Medical Officer had gone so far as to issue a general order to notify her if Major Carter was even within sight of the mountain.

"She did sir," Sam replied with a slight cringe, "but something has come up, and we needed to see you as soon as possible."

"**We** Major? I might not be as young as I once was, but I can still count," he commented with a small smile.

"Well sir…"

Sam really didn't know how to bring up the fact that she'd spent most of last night with Daniel, when the man himself appeared in the far corner of the office, out of sight of the General.

"She's talking about me General," a new voice said, solving Sam's problem.

Hammond's head almost fell off when he turned to the direction of the new and very familiar voice. "Dr. Jackson?" he asked, both in surprise and trepidation, wondering if the years really were catching up on him. "Is that really you, son?"

"It is sir," Daniel confirmed with a smile. "It's good to see you again."

Hammond surprised both Daniel and Sam by getting up and grasping the man on the shoulder, a wide smile on his face.

"Well hell, it's good to see you too son." Hammond quickly reverted back to his General persona and returned to his seat, although the two other occupants in the room were able to see the slight smile that graced his lips and the twinkle in his eye. "While I'm extremely glad to see you in the flesh, I'm guessing that that you're not just here for a social call?"

"I'm afraid not sir," Daniel replied regretfully. "What I have to say is going to be difficult to believe, even with everything we've seen over the years, so before I go into any detail I would ask that you request the files for a now debunked government project code name Initiative."

"I've actually heard of that," the General said after a moment, surprising both Sam and Daniel, "a friend of mine told me about a SNAFU in California called Initiative. May I ask why?"

"The project has a direct link to what I'm about to tell you," the archaeologist replied, "and should give enough proof that I'm not requiring a return visit to a padded cell."

"Not that one you could be kept in one for long anyway," the General added ruefully.

"That is true sir," Daniel admitted ruefully, "but I'd rather you not believe I need one."

"Understood. While I won't lie and say I've always believed the theories you have given over the years," Hammond commented, "I will say that you were invariably proven correct, and that is enough for me to take anything you have to say seriously."

"Thank you sir," Daniel said softly, looking down at his feet for a moment, "it's nice to hear you say that."

The General nodded. "I'll request the files immediately and, once I've gone over them, I'll schedule a briefing. As you're going to be here a while," Hammond went on, "I'd suggest that you find Jack and Teal'c before the scuttlebutt does. Dismissed."

"Sir."

"Oh and Major?" the General said as Sam tried to leave with Daniel.

Sam turned round reluctantly, knowing what was coming. "Sir?"

"Report to the infirmary before you do anything else."

"Yes sir," she said with a sigh.

* * *

**Boulder, Colorado.**

Xander waited patiently at the front door after knocking, enjoying the warmth of the sun on his back. After a minute or so, a maid opened the door and looked at him enquiringly.

"Hello, is this the Williams household?" he asked politely.

"Yes."

"Hi, my name is Xander. I was wondering if Mr. Williams was in?"

The man in question appeared behind the maid, a similar look of curiosity on his face. It wasn't often that someone knocked on the door, given that he lived in a gated community and people had to pass several security personnel before they got that far.

"I am, who's…" Robin trailed off once he saw who was there, and shocked the maid by nudging her aside and bending down on one knee. "My Lord."

"Don't start that crap now 'Robin'," Xander said as he rolled his eyes, "you didn't go in for all that pomp and ceremony when you were living on Ork, which is why you were 'persuaded' to come to Earth in the first place. Just call me Xander, and for goodness sake get up; you're an Oscar winner for Heaven's sake."

"Yes my…" Robin trailed off, as he could almost feel his skin heating up from the look Xander gave him. "Xander. What do I owe the pleasure of a visit from one such as yourself?" he asked, knowing that whatever it was probably wasn't good news.

"Something big is going to happen soon, I mean **really** soon," Xander replied, "and I thought I'd give you a chance to go home before the proverbial hit the fan."

Robin's wife came to the door, the maid informing her of her husband's uncharacteristic behaviour. "Robin, what's going on?" she asked.

Xander answered before Robin has a chance. "Ma'am, I'm here representing a group that are charged with overseeing beings like your husband, with news that could well affect him, yourself and your family."

"This isn't the place to talk about this," Robin said suddenly, realising that talking about his origins outside wouldn't be wise. "As it's the middle of the day, I'll risk inviting you in."

Xander smiled slightly at Robin's comment and followed him and his wife into the living room. Robin sat with his wife on the plush leather couch, his hand rubbing hers in a comforting gesture. Xander knew he should have been a bit more tactful, but he'd been around so many people that were in the know and spoke as such that he forgot that sometimes people who know liked to pretend otherwise, to the extent that they start to believe that they don't know at all.

Robin's wife was like that; she knew her husband was an alien, and that the TV show that made him a star was based on his real-life experiences when he first came to Earth, but she pretended that he was just a man, a talented and famous man, but a man nonetheless.

She'd been so successful in pretending otherwise that she had actually begun to believe the lies she had told herself. Having a total stranger come and shatter the fragile façade she had erected couldn't be easy, but of course if life were meant to be easy, everyone would be doing it.

"So, Xander," Robin began once he knew his wife was more calm, "what is so important that someone of your stature is given the job of messenger boy?"

"Armageddon," Xander told him bluntly, "and I'm not talking about the Bruce Willis flick."

"How does that affect us?" Robin's wife asked, finally managing to gather her wits.

"Well ma'am," Xander began, "while Robin here hasn't used his powers in many years, he still gives off a power signature that is very appealing to some of the… less desirable elements on this planet. They haven't tried to do anything before now due to rules that had been put in place to protect Robin and others like him. Due to a set of unforeseen circumstances," he went on, "the rules are being thrown out. Your husband is too out of practise to protect himself and you from any attacks that might occur in the very near future, so I've been asked to inform you that any restrictions put on you concerning returning to Ork have been rescinded, and it is highly advised you go there until the dust settles. Ork is still a safe haven of sorts, so your family should be safe there."

"'Should' be safe there?" Robin asked.

"All I can guarantee is that you'll be safer there than here." Xander could tell that they both wanted to ask a lot more questions, and decided that they didn't need to be burdened with the answers. He made a show of looking at his watch while stood up and shook their hands. "I have to go," he informed them, "there's a lot to do and a short time to do it in. It's been a pleasure to meet you both, I hope you take my advice."

Before either one got a chance to say anything, Xander clicked his fingers and disappeared.

Robin and his wife looked at each other for a long moment before he uttered a word that hadn't passed his lips in a long time. "Shazbot."

* * *

**Stargate Command, Cheyenne Mountain.**

Colonel Jonathan 'Jack' O'Neill, commander of SG-1 and 2IC of the SGC, sighed in frustration as he managed to get another right jab through his sparring partner's defences, hitting him with enough force to ensure he was aware of the impact. "Come on Jonas, you need to keep your left up."

Jonas Quinn, the newest member of SG-1, nodded in acceptance of the criticism and stepped back, lifting his hands up to indicate he was not ready to continue. "Sorry Colonel, I told you that fighting wasn't really my strong suit."

"You do surprise me," Jack said sarcastically. "I know you don't like it, but there will be times when you'll need to protect yourself, and I want to make damn sure you can hold your own. I'm not asking for Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan levels, just enough to keep you from being scraped off the floor."

"Um Colonel, who are these Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan you're speaking of?" Jonas asked, once again showing his lack of knowledge when it cam to Earth.

"They are warriors of tremendous skill JonasQuinn," Teal'c, former First Prime of Apophis, replied in place of the Colonel, pausing in his weight training to answer. "I have watched many of their recorded battles with ColonelO'Neill."

Jack knew better than to try and contradict the large Jaffa, so he just sighed heavily and turned his attentions once again to the newest member of his team, remembering when he did a similar thing with Jonas' predecessor. "You ready for another round?"

"No," he replied, "but I doubt you'll let that get in the way."

"Damn straight."

They circled each other for a few moments, looking for an opening, when Jack spotted something in the corner of his eye. It was a distraction that Jonas used to his full advantage, throwing a right to Jack's side that the Colonel barely managed to block. He stepped back quickly from Jonas, holding his hands up to show he wasn't sparring anymore and looked towards the door, his eyes widening.

"T, do you see what I see?" he asked haltingly, shaking his head slightly to see if it helped with his vision.

Teal'c stopped bench pressing, setting the heavy weights down safely, and turned his attention to where the Colonel was pointing.

"DanielJackson?"

"Hey Teal'c, Jack," Daniel greeted, sending them both a little wave.

O'Neill took a step forward but stopped, still unsure as to whether his mind was playing tricks on him. "Danny, are you really here, or am I imagining things again?"

"Jack, you didn't imagine anything last time, no more than Teal'c did when he saw me."

"You were in my dreams," the Jaffa stated, silently glad that his encounter with his friend was not a part of his delusions.

"I wasn't allowed to help your body, but I could help your mind."

Daniel didn't get a chance to say anything more, as Jack rushed over and grabbed him in a bear hug, actually lifting the archaeologist off the ground. "Good to see you Danny Boy!"

"Jack… air…" he gasped, only partly in jest. Jack might not be in his prime anymore, but that didn't make him weak, by any stretch of the imagination.

Jack released him with a grin. "Whoops. Sorry. I take it you're among us lowly mortals again."

"At the moment. A… friend fixed it so that that when I'm in human form, I'm human. I have a few extras that don't come with the regular package, but I'm basically the same Daniel Jackson I was before."

Teal'c came over and clapped his hand on Daniel's shoulder, causing the man to stifle a wince. "It pleases me greatly that you have returned to us DanielJackson."

"Thanks Teal'c, I'm glad to be here." Daniel turned to Jonas, this being the first time he'd seen him since Kelowna. "Hey Jonas."

"Doctor Jackson… how?"

"Native American greeting, a little obscure, but it fits."

"No, I mean…"

"I know what you mean Jonas," Daniel said, cutting the other man off, smiling to take the bite out of it, "how am I here?" they all nod. "Well, I have something in common with Jake and Elwood; I'm on a mission from God," he informed them with a smile that could easily be mistaken for a smirk.

Jack looked at him like he had three heads and was singing a Bee Gees song. "Daniel, you sure you're alright? The air must have been pretty thin wherever you were these past months."

"I can't go into everything right now," he replied apologetically, "but once the General's ready I'll explain it all then."

"GeneralHammond is aware of your presence DanielJackson?" Teal'c asked.

"Yeah," Daniel replied, "it's part of the reason why I'm here. As I said, I'll explain everything when the General's ready."

As though the General heard him, his voice came through the PA system. "SG-1 and guest to the briefing room. I repeat, SG-1 and guest to the briefing room."

"I guess he's ready huh?" Jack said with a smile. "Wait, did he say SG-1? He knows that Sam's…"

"Here in the infirmary," Daniel cut in, "having Janet poke and prod her for daring to come in." Seeing their concerned faces Daniel reassured them Sam's fine. "Nothing to worry about, Janet's just following through with a threat she made to Sam about not coming in before schedule."

"She knows you're back?" Jack asked, knowing that Sam had taken his… departure harder than anyone else.

"Yeah, I saw her last night," Daniel told him with a nod. "My friend took me straight there after getting me released from the 'house arrest' I was under."

"Why were you…" O'Neill trailed off as realisation appeared in his eyes. "You tried to help Sam and they wouldn't let you?"

"Got it in one; I'm thinking they run a three strike rule."

Teal'c stepped in and interrupted. "I do not think it would be wise to keep GeneralHammond waiting."

"Thanks T for reminding me. You walking with us Daniel, or are you gonna use your funky voodoo powers to get you there?" Jack asked with a grin.

"Shut up Jack."

Jack slapped him on the back, a wide smile on his face that was genuine for the first time in almost a year. "It's good to have you back Danny."

* * *

**Briefing Room, SGC.**

After going through the Initiative reports and listening to Daniel explain the situation the world, and all existence, faced, there was silence in the briefing room. The General and SG-1 were speechless, even Sam who had already been told last night. Daniel would be the first to say that he had a little trouble with it himself to begin with, but being an ascended, well, being, did have a few advantages.

Jack was the first to respond. "Say I believe everything you told us Daniel…"

"I believe everything you told us Daniel."

"… None of this is within the remit of the SGC," he continued, sending his muted 'glare of death' at his friend.

"That's where you're wrong Jack."

"Last time I checked, we didn't fight demons," Jack pointed out, and the way he said 'demons' showed how sceptical he was.

"But you, we, **do** fight Anubis."

"What does the false god Anubis have to do with demons DanielJackson?" Teal'c asked. "Are you suggesting that the Goa'uld are demons also?"

"No, the Goa'uld aren't demons, although it would solve many problems if they were. At some point, Anubis managed to trick Oma into assisting him to ascend," Daniel explained.

"Anubis is an ascended being?" the General asked worriedly.

"Not anymore. Once they realised what happened, they forced Anubis to return to his mortal body, but he managed to fight back and ended up getting stuck between planes of existence, and is now neither ascended nor mortal. He has access to the knowledge of the Ancients, that's what Oma and The Others were called before they ascended by the way, but he was told that The Others would leave him be if he didn't use that knowledge to recreate their technology."

"Why would he agree to that?" Jonas asked, "it doesn't seem like a good deal."

"Because he also has knowledge of where all Ancient technology was kept when they ascended," Daniel replied. "As long as anything he creates is based off technology he finds and not purely from his own knowledge, he isn't breaking the rules they laid down."

"I still don't see how the two are linked," Jack said.

"With everything that's going down at the moment, Oma and The Others are leaving. Things are coming to a head and those that stay will have to pick a side and actually get involved. With the exception of Oma, they don't really care what happens one way or the other, so they're getting out of dodge before that happens."

"Okay," General Hammond began, regaining everyone's attention, "I'm going to need to see actual proof of demons before I truly believe they exist, despite the Initiative reports, and I'm also going to want to meet with Mr. Harris."

"I expected that sir," Daniel agreed with a nod. "As for proof," he went on, "that can be arranged, but it would have to be a case of us going to find them rather than bringing them here, as bringing a demon into the SGC would be too much of a security risk."

"Agreed," Hammond said immediately, knowing that if half of what he had read was true, having a demon on base would be verging on suicidal.

"Xander is more than willing to meet with you and answer as many questions as he can," Daniel informed the General, "but he's been charged with mobilising as many groups with the necessary expertise as possible, so it might not be for a couple of days."

"Understood. I want you and Colonel O'Neill to work out the arrangements for SG-1 and myself to visit a local demon hotspot for tonight; I see no need to put things off. I also want you to speak to Mr. Harris concerning a meeting."

"Absolutely sir," Daniel agreed. "Just so you know, Xander doesn't like being called Mr. Harris, as it reminds him of his adoptive father and not in a favourable light."

"So noted. There is one more topic I think we need to discuss," Hammond said reluctantly, knowing that Jack would not like the conversation in any way.

"I take it that you mean my return," Daniel stated, knowing that the subject would be brought up at one point or another.

"Correct. While I have no doubt that everyone at the SGC will be more than happy to see you back," the General affirmed, knowing how well liked and respected Daniel is, "there are going to be certain parties in the government that will have questions concerning your absence, not to mention that they'll no doubt require medical evidence to prove that you are indeed Daniel Jackson."

"I have no problem with allowing Janet to run whatever tests you feel are necessary sir," Daniel informed the General, realising that refusal would only hurt his cause, "but I wouldn't allow myself to be tested by anyone else."

"Agreed, I was going to ask if you would allow Doctor Fraiser to run some tests at some point, only to allay anyone's fears that you aren't who you say you are."

"What about the NID, or some other group trying to take Daniel by force?" Sam asked worriedly, fearing for her friend's safety.

"No need to worry about that Sam," Daniel assured her and the others, "I can change from my human form to my ascended one in an instant if need be, and Xander's ensured that I have access to all of my abilities in either form."

"In that case, I'd like you to see Doctor Fraiser immediately, for appearance sake if nothing else. Any questions?" Receiving negative headshakes all round the General nodded once and stood up, the others following suit a beat later. "Dismissed."

* * *

**Major Carter's Residence, Colorado Springs.**

"So, did you get to meet your 'illegal alien'?" Daniel asked Xander as they sat round Sam's dining table.

"Yep," Xander replied, "I explained the situation to them, and it's now up to them what they do with it."

"Who was it you went to see?" Sam asked.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you," he replied regretfully, "as you would be duty bound to inform General Hammond." At seeing her and Daniel's look, he continued. "It isn't that I don't trust you, or Hammond, but I will not put the safety of others at risk of people like the NID or Senator Kinsey."

"I wouldn't have thought that you would be worried about them, given all that you can do," Sam commented.

"And how exactly would you like me to... 'deal' with them?" Xander asked, his tone darkening slightly.

Sam reddened slightly at his tone. "I... well..." she stammered, not quite sure what to say, and suddenly realising that she sitting with someone who is **extremely** powerful.

"I cannot force them to do my bidding," he told them both, his tone softening once more, "not that I would have wanted to. I might have been given the most extreme amount of leeway from Her regarding what I am allowed to do, I cannot and will not interfere in a person's freedom to choose. To do that would make me no better than the things I fight."

"How can we trust you if you do not tell us the truth?" Daniel asked after a moment, more to play Devil's Advocate than anything else.

He was actually glad that Xander had said what he had, as he felt the same way. While Daniel knew that there were times when doing what is right differs from doing what is good, those times only occur under the most extreme of circumstances. There are many who would say that the ends always justify the means, but Daniel was certainly not one of them and never would be, and couldn't work with, or for, people who believed that.

"I have told you the truth Daniel, and you know it. Anyway, how can I trust **you** when you have been keeping the secret of the Stargate from the world?" he asked, turning the tables.

"We did that because the world at large is not ready to accept the existence of life on other planets, let alone the fact that we are at war with them," Sam said in defence.

"You believe that what you are doing is the right thing, just as I believe that what **I** am doing is the right thing. You just don't like the fact that you're not in the know for once," he teased, garnering a smile from Daniel as he thought of the accuracy of that statement and a half glare half rueful look from Sam.

"You're probably right," she admitted. "Changing topics slightly, are you ready to speak with General Hammond tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Xander replied, "and it will go a lot better after Daniel takes the General and the rest of SG-1 on a little excursion tonight."

"Me?" Daniel asked surprised. "Why not you?"

"I allowed my presence to be felt last night to ensure you two had plenty of evidence, even if it was at a low level, but if I do that again tonight I'll draw too much attention to myself."

"How will I make sure Jack gets to see enough evidence? He'll be the most sceptical," Daniel pointed out.

"I'm not the only one to have a presence that will draw the demons out Daniel, or have you already forgotten you are still an ascended being?"

Daniel looked down sheepishly. "I had, at least a little. I've enjoyed being back so much that I started to believe that it had been a dream."

"No dream I'm afraid," he told his friend gently, knowing that he now looked at his time with The Others with regret. "All you'll need to do is revert to your astral form for a few moments, and you'll have all the evidence you'll require and then some. Don't forget to inform them that unless they're carrying tracer ammo in their rifles all they'll do is piss them off," he added, knowing that no matter what they were told, they would not leave the base without, to them, more conventional weaponry. "That's not to say that conventional rounds are useless, just impractical beyond a distraction."

"What about staff weapons or zats?" Sam asked.

"Staff weapons should work fine, at least on vampires," Xander replied, "but the zats will be next to useless unless you hit them at least three times. To be honest, the old ways are the best; stakes, bladed weapons, crossbows, that sort of thing."

"That means getting a lot closer to the enemy than is probably wise," Daniel commented, "and the casualties greater."

"Believe me when I say if there were better ways we'd be using them," he told them fervently, "but there are laws in place that neither side will break, for fear of Her retribution."

"If things are as bad as you say they are, why is... She not already intervening?" Sam asked, stumbling over what to call, well, God.

"She is only allowed to intervene when one of the laws are broken, and none have been."

"That's insane!" she exclaimed.

"That's the way it is, the way it has been, and the way it will always be Sam," he told her forcefully, the entire room suddenly feeling far more foreboding than it had before. "The Creator is the one to have written the laws, so She above all others must obey them."

"Why?" Sam asked, curious.

"God is infallible; if She intervenes before a law is broken, it would be the same is stating that the law was wrong, making Her wrong."

"And that would be bad?"

"All of existence would cease to be."

"Isn't that what we're trying to prevent?" Daniel asked.

"No, I mean **all** of existence," Xander told them seriously, "the Big Bang in reverse. Nothing but The Creator Herself would survive, and even She would be considerably weaker."

"Oh."

Seeing the ashen faced looks on both his companions, Xander knew that they needed a distraction. "So, who's up for Pictionary?"

* * *

**Stargate Command, Cheyenne Mountain.**

Xander walked out of General Hammond's office with a satisfied smile on his face. His meeting with the head of the SGC had gone better than he had hoped, their excursion the previous night giving the man more than enough incentive to offer any and all assistance he could give. Hammond would of course need to speak to his superiors, but Xander knew that would only be a formality.

Unbeknownst to the others, the President was in the know about the supernatural, and had been even before he went into politics. President Kyle Walker's family had a long history with dealing with the forces of darkness, and a relative had already contacted him concerning the current situation.

Xander doubted that, if anyone knew that the President's nephew ran around in a full body purple jump suit, he'd have been elected, but for the current situation he couldn't have asked for a better person to be in the White House.

Walking through the corridors like he'd been working there forever, Xander quickly found Daniel's former, and now current again, office. With the door being open he considered just walking right in, but Xander's manners and his respect for Daniel's privacy made him knock on the door anyway.

The man in question, who had been nose deep into a dusty looking tome that would look right at home in Giles' collection, snapped his head up at the noise and upon seeing his friend smiled.

"Hey, how did the meeting go?" he asked.

Xander took the question as an implicit invite and moved further into the office. "Fine, better than expected in fact. I take it your late night visit into the city was productive?"

"If you call being surrounded by a dozen or so vampires and a werewolf productive, then yes."

"Wait, did you just say a **werewolf**?" Xander asked, puzzled.

"Yes, why?" Daniel replied, puzzled.

"The full moon isn't for another week."

"That thing about the moon is actually true?" Daniel asked in surprise.

"Unless they're a pureblood were, absolutely. Actually, a friend of mine is a werewolf, which reminds me that I need to track him down."

"What, a pureblood werewolf?"

"Not pureblood no," Xander replied with a shake of his head, "but he is a werewolf. I haven't seen him in a couple of years and wouldn't mind catching up. He might not even know that I died," he mused aloud, missing the look of bemusement on Daniel's face.

"I'm sure the General wouldn't mind putting some people on it for you," Daniel told him.

"No need, I can track his aura anywhere in the globe, it'll just take me a while to tune him in. This was just a quick hello visit, as I've got to go see Dr. Frasier so she can run some tests."

"I'm surprised you're allowing that," Daniel commented, "considering what I learned about the Initiative programme."

"Even before I died I would have had no problem with Janet testing me, as I know she would have no hidden agenda concerning the results. Anyway," Xander went on, "there's no way to tell that there's anything different about me from a biological standpoint, at least not with the technology around at the moment, and that includes the alien technology you have at your disposal. There'll come a time when that might change, but by then I'd hope that the need to hide that sort of thing would be no longer necessary. You yourself tested no different than you had before you ascended, and they know you're different."

"True. You better not keep Janet waiting; you may not be able to die, but she knows how to do things with needles that makes even the toughest soldier cry like a girl," Daniel informed him with a smile.

"I'll take that under advisement."

* * *

The tests with Dr. Frasier went as expected, as while they all knew Xander was different, not a single test indicated that. For the purposes of expediency, and to ensure he could get around without having to ask too many questions, they ensured that there was no record of Alexander Lavelle Harris ever dying, instead ensuring that if anyone were to check there would be records of him being in a coma for the months that he had been 'missing'. 

When they had asked why he'd requested they do that, Xander pointed out that like Daniel, every time he used his abilities he gave off a unique energy signature that could be traced. However, unlike Daniel, if his power signature was noticed too often the wrong people would take notice, and give the other side fair warning that a Power was on Earth preparing for war. That meant that, for him to get a lot of what needs to be done, he had to get around using more... conventional methods, at least when he didn't use the thousands of years of magical knowledge he had at his disposal. That too had to be used sparingly, as even before he became a Power his signature would have been unique and easily tracked by anyone actively looking.

Some of that would fall to Daniel, who on top of returning to his duties for the SGC, would also help Xander with his recruitment drive. It didn't hurt that Daniel's patience level far exceeded his own, which meant that he would be dealing with the more hard headed people on Xander's list, something he had yet to mention to the archaeologist. He wasn't putting Daniel in any unnecessary danger, but at least one of the people he was going to meet could test the patience of Job.

For Xander, his next stop was one he had been putting off for as long as he could; informing his friends of what was happening. He was happy to be back on earth, but he knew that it was only temporary, no matter what the outcome, and knew that they would have to go through losing him all over again, especially Buffy.

Xander was also worried about how **he** will react to seeing Buffy again, especially now that they both know how they feel for each other. He was worried that, once he sees her again, he will not want to leave and be forced to. Xander knew that if that were to happen, he would be forbidden to even check on her in Heaven, not to mention other punishments.

Well, he'd have to cross those bridges as he came to them, because there was no way they would win without Buffy and the others help, so he had no choice but to see them. After taking a moment to compose himself, he delved into his pre-Power magical knowledge and teleported to the City of Angels.


	3. Chapter 2: Family Reunion

**Prophecies Suck II – All Or Nothing**

_**Chapter Two - Family Reunion**_

Xander watched Angel and the others for a moment, keeping himself out of phase to ensure he isn't spotted, waiting for them all to be present before he made himself known to them. In particular, he was waiting on his ex-girlfriend Cordelia to make an appearance.

There had been another reason he had decided to got to Los Angeles first instead of Sunnydale, and it was to do with the visions Cordelia was receiving from his colleagues, and Jasmine in particular before she went off in a huff, were slowly killing her.

Humans weren't meant to get the visions that she did, as the human mind was not wired correctly to receive them, and the trauma that they cause on her mind each time one is sent to her is cumulative, and over time it would cause permanent and fatal brain damage. Xander would not allow that to happen if he could help it, but convincing Cordelia to let him help would not be the easiest thing in the world, but compared to some of the other things he would have to achieve in the coming days and weeks it would be a breeze.

He continued to observe the gang for a while longer until they were all present in the Hyperion lobby, and then materialized in front of them all. Given everything, Xander couldn't help but have a little fun at their expense.

"Hi guys, I'm back!" he greeted them cheerfully, making it look as though he'd just gone to the shops instead of the great beyond. Six shocked and bewildered faces greeted him in return, the deafening silence after his announcement making Xander kick himself for not bringing a camera.

Angel was the first who managed to get his power of speech back, mainly because he'd had more experience in dealing with the unexpected than most. "Xander?" he asked, still unsure that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.

Xander performed a very theatrical bow to the Fang Gang, hamming it up to the extreme. "Yes Angel, Alexander Lavelle Harris at your service," he replied, finding that he couldn't stop himself from grimacing at the mention of his middle name, even if he were the one to say it.

Cordelia was the only one to have noticed, and started to believe that it really was him, knowing all about the revulsion he had for his middle name, as she would use it whenever he had gotten particularly annoying. Not even the best impersonators in the world could have gotten that right, and that small action served to calm her down somewhat.

Angel was less trusting than his friend, although given what had happened the last time someone from his past came back from the dead it wasn't all that surprising, and looked to Gunn and Wesley, who in an unspoken agreement moved toward the weapons cabinet.

Seeing this, Xander put his hands up in a placating gesture in an effort to calm them down and not do something foolish. He had no intention of harming them, but if they came at them he couldn't be assured of their safety when he defended himself.

"Hey now," he said warily, more for show than anything else, as even before his death nothing they could have thrown at him would have done anything, "before you go and start grabbing the weaponry and go all 'kill first, ask questions never', I'm not here to harm anyone. I'm still me, the Xander you knew before, I'm still a good guy."

"How?" Cordelia managed to ask, her mind finally working enough for speech, although it hadn't come out as articulate as she would have liked.

"How am I here or how am I still a good guy?" he asked in return, milking the situation for all it was worth.

"**Both** Dweeb Boy," she snapped, her annoyance overriding her shock.

Instead of getting wound up by the insult, Xander actually smiled warmly at his former girlfriend and verbal sparring partner. "You have no idea how much I missed that," he told her happily, "while Michael and Peter have a wicked sense of humour, nothing quite beats a genuine 100 Queen C insult.

Cordelia preened for a moment before remembering what they were talking about. "Stop stalling and answer the questions."

"To answer your eloquently phrased questions, it seems that even when I die I don't get to relax and I'm here to help you out."

Faith by now had gotten over her initial shock of the re-emergence of the original Slayerette and stepped protectively in front of the others, getting right up in Xander's face in true Chosen One style. "How do we know that you're telling us the truth and not just here to try and kill us?"

"What is it with Slayers and their suspicious minds?" he asked rhetorically with a sigh. "Faith, with all due respect, if I wanted you dead, you would be."

Faith snorted in a very unladylike manner. "And what could **you** do?" she retorted, her tone indicating she didn't think much of him as a fighter. "You weren't all that hot before you bought the big one, and I doubt you got better after you died." Faith was surprised when everyone but her and Fred burst into laughter, and it took several moments for them to calm down. "What's so funny?" she asked/demanded, never liking it when she wasn't in the loop about something.

"You know you keep asking us who took Wolfram & Hart out of commission a while back?" Gunn asked in reply, seemingly at random.

"Yeah, and you always dodge the answer, what's that got to do with it?"

Xander answered her question before anyone else could. "I was the one that took them out Faith. I was the one that anchored Angel's soul, and I was also the one that took out the big bad in Sunnydale last year, who if you hadn't heard was a Hell Goddess no less. So I died in the process, but the bitch died first so it still counts damn it."

"Even if all that's true, it still doesn't mean you're on our side now," Faith retorted.

"I could probably talk until I'm blue in the face and not make a difference, but if Cordy takes the time to look," he said, causing the woman in question to do just that, "she can confirm just how on the side of light I am."

After making that statement, Xander stood there calmly and waited for Cordelia to see what he wanted her to. After a few seconds, a shocked and awed expression appeared on her face for the second time in a few minutes.

"He's telling the truth guys," she told them, her voice taking on an almost reverential tone.

"How can you tell Cor?" Angel enquired, a split second before Wesley who shot him an irritated look.

"It seems that my visions allow me to sense good guys," she explained to the gang, "and Xander is **definitely** one of them. He's one of the Powers That Be! They're the ones that send me the visions in the first place!"

"You're absolutely right Cor," Xander said, smiling once more now he could see the others backing down, "I got signed up not long after I died. To cut a long story short, The Creator decided to put me in charge of cleaning house up there."

Finding out that their friend/comrade in arms was now basically Angel's boss made the gang lapse into shocked silence once more time. This time it was Wesley that came round first, his intellectual curiosity overcoming his shock.

"I thought that the PTB didn't recruit, that they simply were?" he enquired, having never heard of someone being recruited as a Power in all of his research.

"Between having more power than most beings that take the up elevator," Xander began to explain, "and some other things that I won't go into right now, The Creator decided it was the least She could do."

"Why are you here? That's not to say we don't want you here," Wesley quickly added, realising that slighting one of the Powers would not be wise for ones prolonged existence, "it's just that normally Cordelia would just get a vision if the Powers wanted us to prevent something."

"You're right, normally you would," Xander agreed. "The problem is this particular situation calls for a more… hands on approach I'm afraid."

"I may be new to this but that doesn't sound good," Fred, who before then had remained silent, which wasn't all that unusual, commented.

Xander smiled sadly at her. "It never is but you'll get used to it, eventually." his face lost the smile and gained a grim expression. "I'm afraid to say that there's another prophecy."

As soon as he said prophecy, Faith started pacing and throwing her arms around. "Uh-uh, I don't want to be a part of no freaking prophecy! You can keep me out of it."

"Hey," he snapped, some of his anger over the whole situation rearing its head, "I don't like this anymore than you do Faith; don't forget that the last prophesy I was in cost me my life. Do you really think I **like** not being with the woman I love and all of my friends? Do you think I liked feeling my life slip away, not knowing where I'd end up for the rest of eternity?"

"Doesn't seem like you did badly out of it, becoming a Power and all," she commented, her voice far more subdued than before.

"Oh yeah, death is such a **wonderful** experience, I wish I could do it every year," he replied sarcastically. "Of course you benefited from my demise though; you would still be in prison if I hadn't convinced the others to give you another chance."

Faith didn't seem to like the thought that she was helped with her early release. She went right up to him and started poking him in the chest with her finger following each word. "I got out all by **myself**! I didn't need any help from **anyone**!"

Xander grabbed her hand and she's shocked to find that she was unable to get out of his grasp. "You got out because you made the right choice Faith, plain and simple. If you hadn't protected those guards during that riot, your powers would have been stripped and you would have spent the rest of your life behind bars. Yes, you got out by yourself, but only because I gave you the opportunity to prove you deserved it."

Xander released Faith's arm and she took a few steps back. She was silent for a couple of seconds and when she did speak it was barely above a whisper.

"You did that?"

"I arranged for the prison riot, yes," he told her, his own voice softening. "I needed to prove to the others that you had turned over a new leaf and was ready to get back in the game. I stuck my neck out for you; I'm glad my 'faith' was justified."

Cordelia groaned at Xander's attempt at a joke. "Your jokes haven't got any better."

"You can't improve on perfection Cor," he retorted. "By the way, as I'm down here, I thought I would help sort out your vision problem."

"What vision problem, I can see fine," she said in confusion.

Xander rolled his eyes. "Your 'other' vision problem Cor. Every time you get a vision from one of us you get a rather bad headache don't you?"

"Yeah, tell me something I don't know," she said snarkily.

"They're killing you," he told her bluntly, knowing that nothing less would do.

"What!" the whole gang screamed, making Xander thankful he was dead.

The entire Fang Gang were now aiming death glares right at him. If those stares were lasers he would be a pile of one-inch cubes now. "Hey now, don't shoot the messenger! I did just say I was going to fix it didn't I?" Xander ignored the rest of the group and focussed his attention on Cordelia. "Humans don't have the physiology to have the types of visions you are getting; every time that you have received on, it has caused brain damage. If you continue to get them as you are, eventually the damage will be irreversible." He could see Cordelia about to ask a question and got in there before she had a chance. "Doyle got the headaches but not the brain damage as he was half demon."

"How can you help?" Cordelia asked immediately.

"That depends. You have a choice to make; I can either remove them or make them painless."

"What's the catch?" she asked immediately.

"Always straight to the point," he said fondly, "that's what I like about you Cordy. Well that and the thing you did with your tongue…"

"**Xander**!" she squealed, flushing slightly.

"Sorry," he told her, his tone indicating he wasn't sorry in the slightest. "To make sure the visions cause you no further pain, I'll have to make you less human."

"You want me to be part demon like Doyle!" she screeched.

"Have you forgotten who I work for now? Do you really think that She would make you part **demon**? If we did make you part demon," he explained, "you would still get the headaches as Doyle did, because you would be getting them from the other side so to speak. You would actually become part 'higher being'. It would just be enough to stop the pain, although there would be a couple of other advantages as well. Before you ask, no one but the Creator knows what they'll be, and She's not telling. This sort of thing has never been offered before, and if I hadn't been up there, it wouldn't have been and you'd have been given a different choice and not enjoyed the consequences of either one."

"What if I choose to have them removed?" she asked.

"I'd remove them, no questions asked," he told her simply. "The downside would be that there wouldn't be a replacement, which means that Angel would lose his link to us and have to do things the old fashioned way. The choice is ultimately yours; I won't try to sway you in any way, not that I could if I tried," he added wryly, "and whatever you do decide I'll support you on it 100"

Cordelia paused to think for a moment before saying anything. "How long are you here for? It's not that I'm unhappy to see you; I just want to know how long I have to decide. I'm not sure how many more of these headaches I can handle."

"Don't worry about the headaches," he told her, "as you won't be getting any more visions until you decide. Anyway, why would you get visions telling you what the Powers want you to do, when there's one three feet away from you? By the way, do you realise that you're the first one who has actually said they're happy to see me?" he told her, having the nerve to pout a little.

"Of course we're happy to see you man," Gunn told him quickly, finally stepping closer, "it's just that we never expected to again." Once he was close enough, the two performed an overly intricate handshake.

"Hey, I understand completely Gunn," he assured him, "it must have been a shock to the system. In answer to your other question Cor," he said, turning to her, "how long I'm here depends on how long it takes to stop the bad guys from destroying the world and invading the celestial plane."

Once more shocked faces greet him. It was actually starting to annoy him a bit, given that this wasn't exactly their first encounter with apocalypse level news.

"You are joking?" Wesley asked hopefully.

Xander sighed. "I only wish I were Wes. That's what the prophecy I mentioned earlier is about, and once again I'm smack dab in the middle of it. Have I told you all how much I **hate** prophecies?"

"Well shit," Gunn said succinctly, "they really like to screw with you don't they? I mean I haven't known you long, but you've already been shafted twice."

"You have no idea Gunn, and it's **three** times as far as I'm concerned." He could see that both Cordelia and Wesley wanted to ask more, so he put a hand up to stop them. "I know you all have questions, and I'll answer as many as I can, but I really need to talk to Angel for a couple of minutes first." He turned to the man in question. "Can we use your office?"

Angel looked at Xander for a moment before nodding. "Sure, follow me."

Angel and Xander headed off to his office, Xander ensuring to shut the door behind them and put up a quick silence spell to ensure that nobody, namely one Miss Chase, could listen in.

"What's wrong Xander?" Angel asked once they were inside.

"Nothing beyond what I already told you," he assured the former cursed champion, although given what he had told them wasn't very comforting, "I just wanted to thank you for taking care of Buffy and the other after I died."

"There's no thanks necessary Xander," Angel told him with a dismissive wave of his hand, "I was pleased to help out."

"I know, but I wanted to say it anyway. There's something else I need to tell you, but I don't know how to bring it up."

"Just tell me."

"Okay, but I doubt you'll be happy about," Xander warned. Knowing that it would be best to just bite the bullet, he once again went for brutal honesty. "The Shansu prophecy has already been fulfilled; you rejected it."

"What are you on about?" he asked, confused.

"You remember when you faced that Mohra Demon and you became human?"

Angel nodded. "Yeah, although I'm surprised **you** do."

"I reviewed everything that had happened to you when I got up there, including things that had been reversed. Anyway, after you became human, you went to the Oracles and asked them to change you back."

"I did that because I couldn't protect Buffy as a human, but the prophecy talks about me stopping an apocalypse. How can that have anything to do with the prophecy?"

"Although it wasn't due to an averted apocalypse," Xander explained, "you hadn't long before been part of stopping Wilkins 'ascension', and add to that the fact that you had been given your humanity, the PTB decided that the prophecy had been fulfilled."

As soon as the implications sunk in, Angel began to throw things around the office in a rage, Xander managing to dodge whatever came his way. He did nothing to stop him, as Xander knew he would feel similarly if the roles were reversed. When Gunn and Wesley came in to see what was wrong, Xander simply gestured that everything was fine and they left, albeit reluctantly.

"I'm sorry Angel," Xander told him sincerely. "The other Powers didn't actually want me to tell you, as they thought that you would stop fighting the good fight if you knew."

"And you don't?"

Xander shrugged. "I just felt you deserved to know; what you decide to do now is completely up to you. But to answer your question, I didn't think you were fighting for your humanity anyway. You fight because it's the right thing to do, at least now anyway," he couldn't help but add, remembering the less than willing participant Angel had been when he first arrived in Sunnydale, "and getting your humanity was always just a bonus, a **big** bonus I admit, but a bonus nonetheless. Anyway, with the spell I used to anchor your soul, in a few decades you'll be able to do everything that a human can, more or less, without losing your strength and speed, which was the reason you became a vampire again in the first place."

That managed to calm Angel down, and he dropped heavily into his, relatively untouched, chair. "I just hate that they, you, manipulate everyone so much."

"If I were one of them I wouldn't be down here fixing their problems," Xander retorted, taking offence to that. "Believe me when I tell you that I have no intention of playing to their tune, and as I've been put in charge there's nothing they can do about it anyway."

"You're not the average Power are you?"

"I think they're beginning to see that," Xander replied with a smile, knowing that a lot of his plans were not popular with his colleagues, "but I think that's part of the reason She did it. Of course the main reason I got this job is because I got screwed over by them as well."

"What do you mean?"

Xander's shoulders slumped and he leant against the, now broken, desk. A feeling of sadness was coming off him in waves as he remembered what they told him. "One of the first things they told me when I arrived was that I was capable of killing Glory without needing the Sword of Avalon. I didn't need to die, but because of that prophecy I didn't consider anything else. The Powers created the prophecy to remove me from the playing field, as I was messing too much with their plans. I should have realised it myself when I was able to cut Glory with the sword before it was activated, but by that point I had resigned myself to the fact that I had to die."

"That's what you meant by being screwed over three times," Angel realised. "I'm surprised you're helping them."

"I'm not helping them, I'm helping **you**. Anyway, if the world goes, Buffy goes with it; I died hoping she'd get to live a long and happy life, and I'm going to make sure that happens if I have to die a thousand times over to accomplish it."

Angel said nothing, he simply nodded in understanding. He then realised that Xander was there in LA rather than in Sunnydale.

"That being said, why is it that you came here first?" he asked. "I would have thought she would have been the first person you'd want to see."

Xander nodded in agreement, but Angel could tell that something was troubling him. "Believe me she is, but I'm not sure how she is going to cope with me being back, only to leave again one way or the other soon after. Another reason is that I'm not sure if I'll be able to leave again if I see her too soon."

"I understand," Angel told him, and for once Xander knew it was the truth. If there was one thing they always had in common, it was Buffy. "This prophecy you're here about, does it go into any details?"

"I tell you it's the vaguest prophecy I've ever read," Xander said in annoyance, "and I've read a fair few; 'The creature of darkness that becomes a Power for light will become the catalyst for a war to end all wars. He must team with the Champions of Earth to combat the forces of darkness that threaten the world and the Celestial plane.' Have I mentioned how much I **hate** prophecies?"

"Gunn is right; they really do like to screw with you don't they? I guess that both Faith and I are 'Champions of Earth'?" Angel enquired, already knowing the answer.

"So are Buffy and the others in Sunnydale. There are actually quite a few around the world, which makes a lot of sense if you think about it, and I'm going to have to get them all together before we can begin getting ready. Luckily I'm still the owner of Savox Industries, so getting them all here won't be too difficult."

"Why don't you just summon them here magically?"

"If I were still a demon I probably would," Xander admitted, "but doing so as a Power would raise alarms with the bad guys, not to mention that I need for them to join up willingly; whisking them away from their homes without warning or permission wouldn't exactly be the best first impression I could make. Either way there is a need to be careful; we don't want to show our hand until we have to and, the other side already have the advantage."

"Getting back on topic," Angel said quickly as he realised something, "I don't think you can delay seeing Buffy and the others Xander. Ten will give you twenty Cordy is already ringing them and telling them you're here."

The moment Angel said that, Cordelia barged into the room and stood right in front of Xander, not looking the least bit happy.

"What's up Cor?" Xander asked, fearing the answer.

"Why didn't you tell us you hadn't contacted Buffy?" she demanded angrily.

"I haven't been on earth for very long," he replied feebly, the words sounding hollow to his own ears, "I've been pretty busy."

"That's no excuse!" she snapped at him. "Buffy and the others are on their way and they're pissed!"

"That's just great," he sighed, "all I need is a Buffy bomb to deal with. I'm guessing that there'll be a Willow bomb and a Dawn bomb as well. I guess I don't need that ride Angel," he told the former vampire with a soul, "but I'll still need backup so I can try to explain before they try to rip me to pieces."

"You need it you got it," Angel told him immediately.

"Thanks," he responded gratefully.

"You better give me those 'higher being' powers before they get here then," Cordelia said to Xander, "in case you're incapable of doing it afterwards."

"So you've decided to keep the visions then?"

"They're kind of my thing," she replied with a shrug, although Xander could tell they meant a whole lot more to her than that, "and they help us help others. I would be selfish to ask for them to be removed."

Xander walked over and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "No one would think differently if you did Cor, and if they did they'd answer to me. You weren't given a choice about receiving the visions, but you do have a choice about keeping them."

Cordelia smiled gratefully before responding. "I've made my choice, I want to keep them."

"OK then it'll only take about a minute to fix. You ready?"

Once he saw Cordelia nod in readiness, Xander reached out and laid his hands against her temples. After a moment, a soft white glow began to emanate from his hands and then transfer over to Cordelia, whose head and then body became enveloped by the glow. After a few seconds the glow pulsed brightly and then dissipated, and Xander stepped away.

"All done," he informed the pair with a smile before turning his attention to Cordelia. "To make sure that it's worked, I'm going to send you a vision," he told her. Although he knew that it had been successful, Xander knew that she would worry unless he proved it to her.

"I'm ready," she told him immediately, already feeling better than she had in a while, with no sign of a headache.

Xander nodded and immediately sent her a memory of them in a broom closet together during High School. It was the only thing he could think of at short notice, that and the fact he wanted to annoy her a little. Once the vision was over she slapped him on the arm, although he could see she was slightly flushed, which probably meant that she didn't just see what happened, she felt it as well.

"Hey you perv!" she scolded him, but with little to no heat to her voice.

"I never said it would be an important vision," he told her with a grin. "Did it hurt?" he asked seriously.

"Not physically," she replied, looking at him gratefully for a moment before the scowl came back, "but the mental scars will be there for a long time."

"What did he send you?" Angel asked, his tone suspicious.

Both Xander and Cordelia could see the barely hidden jealousy showing on Angel's face and hid smiles. Cordelia decided that telling him exactly what the vision was of would only makes things worse, so she just gave him the basics.

"Just a memory of High School," she told him dismissively before turning her attention back to Xander. "Thank you for fixing the visions," she said gratefully.

"I'm glad I could help," he replied. "When we have time I'll help you work out what your other powers are, but I have hurricane Buffy to deal with first. I'm guessing that Buffy will be driving, so they'll be here in about 90 minutes, major road accidents not withstanding."

"Why don't we go back into the lobby and I'll introduce you to Fred," Cordelia suggested, "and then we'll think of something to keep you relatively intact when Buffy gets here."

Not having anything better to do, and feeling bad for not introducing himself earlier, Xander nodded in agreement and the trio left Angel's office and joined the others in the lobby. Cordelia then steered him to the shy looking brunette, whose demeanour reminded him a low of Willow before she got into magic.

"Xander Harris I would like to introduce you to Winifred Burkle, Winifred Burkle I would like you to meet Xander Harris."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Fred greeted him shyly, her head dipping a little which caused her hair to fall in front of her face.

Xander leant down and kissed the back of her hand, causing Fred to blush wildly. Neither Wesley nor Gunn seemed to be too happy with her response, and began watching the pair like hawks.

"The pleasure is all mine, I assure you," Xander told her, cranking up the charm, "I've seen what an asset you'll be."

"So you're one of the Powers That Be?" she asked unnecessarily.

"Guilty as charged milady," he replied with a little bow.

She blushed a little more at the comment and now both Wesley and Gunn were giving Xander death glares, their jealousy plain on their faces.

"What's it like?"

"I don't feel that different to before, except for the whole being dead thing of course," he responded with a shrug. "I always did my best to look after the ones I care about, and this allows me to do it more effectively."

"Don't you ever think of yourself?"

"Of course I do, but primarily my happiness comes from knowing that the people I love are happy. You'll be glad to hear that you now fit into that category."

The blush deepened on Fred's face at his words. The death glares coming from Wesley and Gunn intensified to match.

"You love me?" she asked, her eyes wide.

Xander finally caught the glares that he was receiving from both of Fred's would be suitors, and realised that he needed to tone down the charm a little and to reassure the pair that there was only one woman he would ever, could ever, feel that way towards.

"Not in the way you think I mean," he told her seriously, his eyes flicking over to the two men, "Buffy is the **only** woman that I am in love with. You are, however, a part of the family as far as I'm concerned. I saw how you helped everyone out in Sunnydale when you were all there, and I can never thank you enough for that. I can also see that you are a good person, and that Angel and the others like you. Even Faith likes you," he added with a grin, "and that is a difficult thing to achieve."

Faith came over and slapped the back of his head for the comment, and had to shake her hand out a little afterwards.

"I heard that!" she snapped.

"And?"

"Just saying is all," she grumbled.

Xander sighed as he noticed that she had taken his comment to heart. "You know I meant nothing by it Faith, it's just that you've never been one for letting people in. It's good to see that you've changed your opinion on that."

"Well I had a lot of time to think in the joint, and I realised that I needed to trust people more. You helped me start on that road by the way; you were the only one in the Dale that tried to be friends with me just because you wanted to. Sorry for trying to kill you by the way," she added quickly, having always found apologising for the things she'd done difficult.

"Don't worry about it, you wouldn't have been able to anyway," he told her.

"And why is that?"

"Because before I died I was a pureblood Savox demon," he replied, pretty much expecting what her reaction would be.

"**What**!" she shouted.

"I said, before I died I was a pureblood Savox demon," he repeated.

"You've got to be flipping kidding me! I slept with a demon?"

"Could you say that with a little **less** disgust in your voice please?" Xander said, his tone hardening a little. "I actually enjoyed myself that night," he confessed, although to Faith that wasn't much of a confession, "apart from when you kicked me out of your room before I even had a chance to get dressed of course."

"I just cannot believe that you were a demon," Faith said with a shake of her head, as though she hadn't heard a word he'd said.

Angel decided to step in to the conversation, thinking that she would accept it faster if he corroborated Xander's story.

"He's telling you the truth Faith, and it was just as much of a surprise to all of us I assure you. By the way I've just ordered some food; it should be here in twenty minutes."

"How come you kept it quiet Xand?" she asked him, ignoring Angel's comment about food even though the growl in her stomach told everyone she heard him.

"The reasons I kept it a secret are many and varied," he told her, not really wanting to get into all of that again, "but that doesn't really matter anymore seeing as I'm dead now."

The tone in Xander's voice made it clear that that part of the conversation was closed, something that was understood by everyone. Even if they hadn't understood, there was no chance they wanted to piss off one of the Powers by continuing.

"I get that you don't want to get into it and your right, it doesn't really matter now anymore. Hey I was thinking," Faith said as she realised something, "if you could have gotten away from me any time you wanted, why didn't you?"

"I knew that you were living on a knife edge and needed help," he began to explain. "If you were going to let rip on someone I was the safest choice, being practically indestructible and all, so I came to confront you. I was hoping that I would get through to you before you went too far."

"You were starting to get through to me near the end," she confessed. "I'm not sure which way I was gonna go, Angel came in just before I made my decision. I'd like to think I wasn't going to go through with it but I'm honestly unsure."

"It was probably a good thing he turned up when he did really. If you hadn't have stopped yourself I would have hated killing you, seeing as you were my first and all."

Hearing that, Faith's, and everyone else's, eyes nearly popped out of their heads. It took several seconds before she was even able to speak again.

"You telling me that you would have **killed** me?"

Xander looked at the ground for several seconds before he lifted his head and looked Faith in the eyes and responded. "Yes, Faith, I would have killed you. Believe me when I tell you it would have been one of the hardest things I would have had to do, but there was no way that I would have let you live if I thought you were going to be a danger to Buffy and the others." He turned away from her and the others and closed his eyes. "I made that mistake once in my life; I wasn't going to do it again."

Everyone could hear the pain in his voice as he talked, which was a far cry from the Xander that always had a hint of humour in his voice no matter the circumstances. Momentarily forgetting that he just told her he had been willing to kill her, Faith gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What are you on about X?"

Xander was unable to speak, his throat becoming tight. It was almost as though his body was fighting his mind over whether to explain or not. He knew that most of them had to have guessed what it was about, but they had never spoken it aloud and they didn't feel right doing so now. The only person that truly understood what Xander was on about, who had his own demons, pardon the pun, to fight concerning that time, decided to say it for him.

"He's talking about me," Angel told her and the rest of the group. "Xander could have killed me at any time when I lost my soul, but he didn't."

"Why didn't you?" Faith asked, not in a demanding way like he had expected, but in a purely curious tone that enabled him to answer.

"I knew that if I did, Buffy would never have talked to me again, and that was something that I wouldn't have been able to live with," he replied. "It still isn't, but if I had the decision to make again, I would choose differently; my happiness isn't worth the pain everyone went through."

Xander noticed the guilt that flowed over Angel's face as he remembered that time in his life, and went over to him. "I'm sorry I brought it up Angel," he told him regretfully. "We all know that you weren't responsible for the things that happened, Angelus was, and he's gone now and won't ever be coming back. If anything I'm the one responsible…"

"If I'm not responsible then neither are you," Angel retorted firmly, cutting in before Xander could get on a roll, "but we both know that saying it and believing it are two very different things. I may not have had any control over what happened, but I still have all of the memories of what Angelus did, not to mention how he felt. I still can't look Giles in the eye, and I'm not sure I'll ever be able to."

Faith was watching the two of them interact and got a confused look on her face. "How come you're all buddy buddy?" she asked the pair. "Last time I saw you two together, you hated being in the same continent, let alone trying to console each other."

"We cleared the air on a lot of things the last time I was here," Xander explained. "We just had no reason to keep hating each other anymore."

"He doesn't even call me DeadBoy anymore," Angel went on with a little smile, "I never thought I'd say this but I kind of miss it. Anyway, it was Xander who anchored my soul and killed the demon inside, so it was pretty difficult to keep hating him after that."

"It's a little redundant me calling you DeadBoy now don't you think, seeing as I'm no longer among the living myself," Xander pointed out.

"Hold up, did you just say that Xander anchored your soul?" Faith asked, forgetting that Xander had already said that. "I never thought you were good with the magic?"

"That was what I needed everyone to believe. In actual fact I am quite adept at magic, although most of my skills aren't actually my own, but are inherited from my family."

"Why did you do it?" she asked, meaning anchoring Angel's soul.

"I wanted to ensure that Angelus never got out again," he told her, and given what he'd just said that made a lot of sense to the dark haired Slayer, "and I thought that Angel deserved to have a little happiness as well. I had also made a promise to Angelus that when he died I would be there, and I was."

"You've got some sort of White Knight complex haven't you?"

Xander and Angel looked at each other and shared a small smile.

"You wouldn't be the first to say that."

Fred decided that this would be a perfect chance to get on to a less depressing topic, and re-entered the conversation. "Xander, what is 'He' like?"

"I'm afraid that we have to sign a non-disclosure contract when we get up there," he told her tongue in cheek. In actual fact there was no ruling about describing exactly what The Creator was like, but to try and explain it to someone who was still alive would be futile, so those that come down to Earth prefer not to try at all. "No one gets to know until they should know," he went on, "unless 'She' decides to grace us with a visit of course."

"Does 'She' do that often?"

"Only when the urge to play Skee-Ball is too great," he replied with a shrug, remembering what he had been told about Her last trip.

"What?"

Xander waved his hand dismissively. "Nothing, don't worry about it."

"I don't know about you," Faith said as she became more animated, bouncing on the soles of her feet, "but all this heart to heart bullshit gives me the need to fight something. Feel up to a bit of sparring Boytoy?" she asked with a smirk.

"It might be a good idea," he replied with a smirk of his own, "it's been a few months since the last time I kicked a Slayer's ass, and it might as well be yours than anyone else's."

"Just so you know I won't be holding back," she warned, still not truly understanding how capable Xander was.

"You shouldn't," he told her seriously, "I could take Buffy down in two seconds flat."

"I don't want to know about your kinky ways BoyToy."

"Do you ever bring your mind out of the gutter?" he asked with a smile, thinking that he'd probably say something similar.

"Do you ever stop smelling like one?"

Before she knew what was happening, Faith found herself flying through the air. Just as she prepared to land, she suddenly found herself in Xander's arms, who looked down at her with a shit eating grin on his face.

"Have a nice flight?"

He dropped her to the floor and then backed away a few paces, taking up a simple fighting stance.

The grin on his face really pissed Faith off, and she began to lose her cool. "Man, am I going to enjoy kicking your ass!" she yelled.

Faith had barely finished her sentence when she charged at Xander full tilt, hoping to catch him by surprise. The surprise was hers when he sidestepped her with ease, barely even looking in her direction.

"I see the joint has made you rusty," Xander goaded, knowing all the right buttons to push.

Faith growled low in her throat and charged him again. This time Xander didn't even bother to move and allowed her to hit him with a thunderous right hand, which caught him square in the jaw. If Xander had been anyone else he probably would have been writhing on the floor in pain, but the only pain that was being felt was by Faith, who was shaking her hand.

"Shit Xand, are you made of granite or something?" she asked incredulously, having never impacted against as solid as that before.

"No, although I'm not entirely sure I'm flesh and blood either," he admitted with a slight frown of confusion. "Don't forget that I'm dead."

As Faith approached him again, this time more slowly, she suddenly got a gleam in her eyes and at that moment Xander could tell exactly what she was going to do. When she got within striking distance, she sent her foot up with terrifying speed between his legs, her intention to get him in the one place that no man could withstand, but as he foot was about to make contact, Xander's body suddenly became translucent, and her foot went straight through him. The momentum of her kick overbalanced her, and Faith fell to the floor in a heap.

"How did you do that?" she asked in surprise and embarrassment, having never been shown up quite so spectacularly in a fight before.

"I'm one of the Powers That Be, Faith," he told her smugly, "we can do just about anything, unless 'She' decides otherwise. Even before I was dead that wouldn't have affected me, as Buffy tried something similar. So," he went on after a moment as he helped her get up, "you still have an urge to kill something?"

"Yeah actually," she replied, eyeing him warily, "but I think I'll just do a late patrol after eating; there's less chance of getting permanent damage that way."

"The only thing I would have damaged was your pride," he told her honestly, not wanting her to think he would have harmed her, "because as a rule I don't beat up friends. What just happened, a good lesson to learn though Faith; never underestimate your opponent, as that's the quickest way to an early grave in this gig, and you don't always get a second chance to realise that."

"I hear you," she replied soberly, knowing that he had indeed taught her a lesson, one she wouldn't soon forget.

She hadn't found many things that could take her in a one on one tussle, and those that could had to fight damn hard to do so, as Buffy would reluctantly attest to. To have someone so easily defeat her, even if it was only a sparring session her pride told her, made her realise that she wasn't unbeatable.

Shaking her mind of those less than cheerful thoughts, she turned her attention to Angel as her stomach growled again, louder this time. "Hey Fang, where's the food?"

As if on cue, the deliveryman with the take out knocked on the hotel doors, where Angel went and paid him while Faith and Fred snatched the food away and started rummaging through the multitude of boxes to see what Angel ordered.

Soon, the whole gang were all getting stuck into the food, Xander and Angel doing so for show, and talked amongst themselves about everything and nothing. The only thing they didn't talk about was the fact that the Sunnydale gang would soon be arriving, headed by an angry Slayer who didn't have the greatest of track records when it came to allowing rational thought to get in the way of hitting something.

* * *

Eighty-seven minutes and fifty-six seconds after Cordelia's phone call, Buffy and the others burst into the hotel like a horde of wild animals, which given the looks on a couple of their faces wasn't exactly an inaccurate description. Even a blind man could tell that there was an extremely pissed off slayer in the vicinity, and for once it wasn't Faith.

"Where **is** he!" Buffy demanded loudly the moment she stalked inside, looking around like a tiger on the hunt, with Xander as the prey.

Xander, along with everyone else in the room, could hear the unmistakable 'I'm going to kick your ass' tone in Buffy's voice that always preceded the aforementioned ass kicking, so he decided to stay hidden in Angel's office for the time being, as he wasn't not ready for a Buffy bomb just yet, which he knew would explode upon sight of him.

Angel decided to take a stab at trying to diffuse the situation, hoping that his former girlfriend wouldn't take a stab at him in return. "Before you start Buffy," he began as he came out of his office, not allowing her time to say anything more, "you need to understand that Xander had only been here a few minutes when Cordelia rang you. He hadn't had a chance to contact you as we were all trying to come to terms with seeing him again ourselves."

Although it was a worthy effort, there was no chance of cooling down the inferno disguised as Buffy Summers just yet, and the words washed over her. "And why did he come here first instead of coming to see me, to see his family? What makes you all more important?"

Annoying Buffy had always been fun for Cordelia, and seeing the jealousy radiating off of her was almost too much to bear, but before she made a rash, but funny as hell, comment, she managed to realise that they needed to calm her down a little so they could start to talk about the coming battle.

"He came to help me with my visions," she said as she too made her way into the lobby, closing the office door behind her. "They were slowly causing me brain damage, as humans weren't meant to have them. He was given permission to make me part 'higher being' to stop the pain, and to reverse the damage already done. You know that Xander can't stand idly by if he can help someone out, and if he hadn't, the visions would have eventually killed me."

Not hearing anything from Buffy for a few seconds, hopefully because she was thinking about what was said, Xander decided that this was as good a time as any to make an appearance. That seemed to have been a mistake, because as soon as she saw him emerge from the office, him she rushed over and hit him in the jaw as hard as she could. The fact she did it with a baseball bat did not go unnoticed by the Fang Gang.

The shock of seeing Buffy left him unprepared for the blow and he stumbled back a couple of steps before falling on his ass. Buffy went to hit him again but was intercepted by Angel and Faith.

"That's enough Buffy," he barked loudly.

"Yeah B, you're acting a little crazed aren't you?"

She ignored both of them and locked eyes with Xander, who had by now got back up and whose head could be seen between Faith and Angel.

"You bastard!" she shouted.

"My parents were married when I was born so you're factually incorrect," he told her seriously, "although they had only been married three days when I was born, but that's beside the point."

Buffy completely ignored Xander's attempt at levity, her anger clouding everything. "You die and leave me to cope on my own, and then when you do return you don't even come and see me!" she cried.

"You weren't on your own," he told her soothingly, "you had all of your friends and family around you. I've only been here a couple of hours and as Cor told you, I came here first to help her with her vision problem. I was going to send a guy called Skip," he babbled on, "but because of a situation that's come up I could do it myself."

"Are you telling me that if it wasn't for this situation," she said, spitting out the word situation as though it had left a foul taste in her mouth, "we would never have seen you again!"

"Not until you joined me in Heaven, no," he admitted softly, the look of sadness in his eyes dousing the flames of her ire. "Both you and Angel had unfinished business, a destiny that was unfulfilled, that's why you both returned, although the CPR and healing spell I administered may have helped you a little bit," he added, putting his thumb and forefinger out an inch apart. "I on the other hand had no such luck. Do you really think it was my choice?" he asked her, his voice rising. "If it had been up to me I would have never left, but that choice was taken from me, just like everything else."

Before Buffy had a chance to respond, Xander came out from behind Faith and Angel and stood in front of her, leaving him open to attack. It looked like Buffy was going to hit him again, but instead she ran up to him and pulled him into a vice-like hug, one that he returned with equal fervour. Both Angel and Faith looked on completely confused.

"I missed you so much," Buffy sobbed against his shirt, "you have no idea how much."

"I know exactly how much, as I felt the same way," he replied, whispering in her ear. "I'm sorry I didn't come to see you first; I wasn't sure how you would take my being here. Cordy was telling you the truth," he went on, "her visions were slowly killing her and I couldn't let that happen."

"Hold up," Faith said, causing the pair to look at her, "one second she's using you for batting practise and now you're all lovey dovey? What gives?"

"I was expecting the violence," he admitted, "in fact I'm surprised she didn't use something sharp like an axe to be honest. She just needed to get the anger out of her system, and nothing does that better than trying to bludgeon the cause of said anger."

That comment earned him a smack on the shoulder from Buffy, but she didn't even try to relinquish her hold of him. "Hey, I'm right here you know!"

Anything else that was going to be said went out the window when Xander and Buffy were nearly knocked over again by two missiles, one redhead and one brunette. They soon joined Buffy in trying to crush him with hugs, not to mention trying to drown him in tears. There was complete silence in the lobby for a couple of minutes, both the Scooby Gang and the Fang Gang watching the four with smiles on their faces.

The silence was finally broken by Willow, who lifted her head to look at her childhood friend. "We thought you were dead!" she wailed before sobbing against him once more.

Xander couldn't help but smirk at that comment, as sometimes even the smartest people could say the stupidest things. "I **am** dead Wills," he reminded her gently.

"What do you mean you're dead," Dawn hiccuped, her voice smothered by his shirt, "you're right here?"

It seemed that Willow was in good company as far as stupidity is concerned, but he let them both off lightly given the circumstances.

"So is Angel," he retorted, "and he hasn't been alive for quite some time. No offence," he added as he looked over at the man in question.

"None taken, after all you're just stating fact."

"What are you then, a vampire?"

"Please," Xander snorted. "How many vamps could take a baseball bat to the head from a Slayer swinging at full strength? Even if I were, Angel and the others would have either dusted me or chained me up so you could dust me or curse me the moment I arrived."

"He's also been gone for months," Dawn pointed out from her nook, "and we know he wasn't turned as we were all there when he…"

She began to cry when even harder as she started to remember the events of that day, but stopped when she felt Xander kiss the top of her head.

"It's OK Dawnie," he told her soothingly, "please don't cry."

"But you died!"

"Yes I did, there's no way I can really lie about that is there?" he said with a small smile. "I know what it's like to lose someone you care about Dawn, but as long as you keep them in your head and in your heart, they're never really gone. Anyway, apart from the whole dying thing I'm feeling pretty good," he added with a grin.

Dawn nodded her head in agreement, and then laughed a little at his unique brand of humour, but was still sniffling.

"Are you staying?" Buffy asked eventually, the question she had wanted to ask from the moment she had laid eyes on him.

The hope in her voice both warmed and broke Xander's heart in equal measure. He wanted to tell her yes so badly, but he knew that lying to her would only make things worse in the end. "I'll be here for a while Buff, but once everything has been settled I'll have to go back. If the situation weren't so unique I wouldn't be here at all, we're not normally allowed to directly interfere with what happens down here."

Buffy nodded slowly and after a moment was the first one to release the death-grip like hold on him. Willow and Dawn kept hugging him, needing that physical reassurance that he was actually there and not some illusion, but relaxed their grip a little. Everyone could tell that Buffy was barely keeping herself from crying her eyes out.

"Why can't you stay?" she asked plaintively. "And what do you mean by 'we'?"

"I'm one of the Powers That Be, Buffy," he told her gently, "which means that I'm bound by rules that have been around much longer than Earth."

It was at this point that Giles made his presence known. "Dear God, Xander, you can't be serious!"

"I am very serious. And you shouldn't take 'His' name in vain Giles," he told the older man.

Xander tried hard not to smile when he saw Giles reach for his glasses to clean them, a sure sign of trouble, only to find he wasn't wearing any. Giles had corrective surgery a month ago to cure his eyesight, and still hadn't got used to it yet.

"Yes, quite," he said flustered, not knowing what to do with his hands. He then looked Xander in the eye and grinned widely. "By the way it's bloody good to see you again."

"You too Giles," Xander replied sincerely.

Giles went over and firmly shook Xander's hand, a slight glint in his eyes. Dawn and Willow finally released him and the two men hug, in a manly way, for a few seconds. Giles had always seen Xander as the son he never had and to see him again was close to overwhelming.

After a moment or two, Giles came out of his uncharacteristic show of emotion and reverted back into Watcher-Mode. "Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I was under the impression that the Powers That Be were not allowed to directly intervene in matters on Earth under any circumstances?"

"As usual you're right Giles, but this particular situation has made it necessary for the rules to change," Xander told him.

Giles was about to ask another question when Joyce came over and kissed him on the cheek, doing the same thing to Xander. "I know that we all want to know why you're here," she told Xander, "and I'm sure it isn't just for a chat, but I think that we can forego that for a while, don't you Rupert?" she added to Giles, smiling sweetly.

Giles blushed a little at the public show of affection but quickly nodded in agreement. Xander was happy that Joyce and Giles had finally gotten together, another thing that his death helped to happen. His dying had brought home to both of them how short life really was, and that they should grab every chance at happiness available.

Once they had professed their feelings to one another, they started to worry about how Buffy would take the news. Those worries were unfounded when she hugged both of them and told them how happy she was for both of them. She did tell them that if she found them in a compromising position that she would need to be committed again immediately so she didn't rip Giles' balls off. He had fallen silent for a full two hours before he gave her his word that she never would.

"No one would agree with you more than I would Joyce, as I'd like nothing more than to catch up with you all, but I'm not really sure how much time we actually have."

"How bad is it Xander?" Tara asked him, smiling widely at the young man.

Xander went over and hugged the blonde Wicca strongly for a few seconds before kissing her on the top of the head and releasing her. "One word explanation; prophecy."

A collective groan immediately came from the Scooby Gang.

"You really have the worst luck don't you?"

"Like you wouldn't believe Tare," he agreed, "like you wouldn't believe. Have I told you all how much I hate prophecies?" he asked them all rhetorically.

"You're not the only one," Buffy agreed strongly, "I **particularly** hated the last one we were involved in."

A tear rolled down her cheek and Xander, after hugging Tara again, went over and pulled her into a hug to comfort her, kissing the tear away.

"The problem started when I was recruited to become one of the Powers That Be."

"I can imagine that there were a few that weren't too happy that a demon was made a Power," Angel commented. "I honestly didn't think we could even get there."

"Neither did I," Xander admitted, "but it has happened before, the last one was several thousand years ago so I was told. You're right that there were one or two that disagreed with Her decision. However once She made it clear who the boss was they towed the line, mostly. Our problem comes from the other side. Quite a few of them see me as a 'traitor to the cause', and they feel that the balance has shifted too much and they need to take action. We only found out about this when a prophecy appeared in the celestial archives. They have teamed up with Glory's second in command with the intention of destroying Earth, and then they're vying for the celestial plane."

"What do you mean Glory's second in command, I thought that we got all of Glory's followers?" Giles asked.

"So did I. It seems that Doc, that's his name by the way, stayed in the shadows and was only going to show himself when he was to perform the ceremony to send them home. It seems that he isn't too happy we killed his goddess and prevented him from ever going home and wants some payback."

Before any more questions could be asked, Buffy decided to cut into the conversation. "Before we start going into full blown work-mode, I want to talk to Xander alone for a while."

"Of course," Angel agreed immediately, "you can use any of the rooms on the third floor."

"Keep your mind out of the gutter Angel," Cordelia berated him.

"I meant that they could speak privately up there, not anything else," he replied with a roll of his eyes. "Anyway, you must have a dirty mind as well if you thought I was being rude."

"Not to begrudge you two from having another one of your now famous quarrels, although the ones I had with Cordy were far superior," Xander said interrupting the pair before they could get started, "but I think that Buffy and I will take you up on your offer Angel. When we come back down I'll tell you what we need to do, if you're willing of course, free will and all Jazz."

Xander grabbed Buffy's hand and the two made their way upstairs to the third floor and went into the first room they came to. As soon as they closed the door, Buffy jumped into his arms.

"I love you," she whispered into his ears as she snuggled against him, revelling in the fact that he was here and wasn't another of her dreams.

"I love you too," he whispered in reply, "always have and always will."

They stayed that way for several minutes, just basking in the feel of one another. Eventually Xander gently lowered Buffy to the floor, and noticed as a tint of sadness appeared in her eyes once more.

"You're not staying are you?" she asked, hating the fact that she already knew the answer.

"I'm not allowed," he told her in reply, his tone indicating just how devastated he felt. "Once we've dealt with the horde, I'll have to return to Heaven and continue my duties as a Power. Believe me when I tell you I don't want to," he told her earnestly, "staying here with you is all I can think of, but I have no choice."

"How long?"

"Honestly, I haven't a clue. It'll take time to get everyone we need, then more time to prepare for the upcoming battle."

"Then we better make the most of the time we do have," she said decisively, determined not to waste any further opportunities. "You do realise that we've never even kissed."

"That thought had crossed my mind a few million times a day," he said with a little grin.

The pair moved towards each other slowly, Buffy reaching up on tiptoe to put her arms around her neck while Xander's instinctively wrapped around her waist. Their mouths slowly moved closer to each other, until they were mere millimetres apart…

"Guys! There's someone on the phone for Xander!" Dawn yelled from the stairs before they heard her footsteps as she retreated back to the safety of the lobby.

'Does the entire universe like fucking with me!' was the thought that both of them had at the same time, knowing that the moment was lost.

"I just can't catch a break can I?" Xander moaned with a sigh. He'd only given the number to one person, and they wouldn't have called unless it was urgent, so he knew he couldn't just ignore it like he dearly wanted to.

Buffy equalled the sigh and leaned her head against his chest. "Neither of us can." She moved her head back and fixed Xander with a piercing look. "Before you leave, you **will** give me that kiss."

"If I have my way I'll be giving you a **lot** more than that," he told her with a leer, his voice husky.

The blush that appeared on Buffy's cheeks, coupled with the impish like grin on her face, warmed Xander's heart.

Buffy sighed again and then reluctantly released him. "We better go downstairs."

Xander simply nodded, kissing the top of her head, and then held out his hand to her. Once her hand was in his, they made their way back downstairs, finding everyone looking at them with wide grins on their faces, and the pair knew that they'd just been had.

"There was no one on the phone was there?" Xander asked, already knowing the answer.

A devilish grin was securely plastered on Dawn's face as she shook her head. "No, I just didn't want you two getting up to anything naughty."

"Before I leave we will be having a conversation young lady, count on it."

The tone in Xander's voice told her exactly how he was feeling towards her at the moment, and she realised that she may have been a bit hasty with her idea of a joke.

Joyce sent Xander a glare indicating she didn't like the way he spoke to her youngest daughter, but said nothing as she knew how she would feel if their roles were reversed. She also knew without a shadow of a doubt that Xander wouldn't hurt a hair on Dawn's head, his actions a few months ago proved that to her and everyone else.

"Right," Xander began with a sigh as he indicated for everyone to find a seat, "now that we're back down, I'll tell you what is going to happen. The battle, no, the **war** we are facing will be too much for us to fight alone, so I shall be bringing other Champions in from all over the world to help."

"I hope you don't mind my asking Xander, but who?" Giles asked.

"Well, I suppose the ones you'll be most aware of are the Halliwell sisters and their Whitelighter."

A high-pitched squeal suddenly pierced the air, actually shattering the chandelier hanging in the lobby and caused everyone to dive for cover.

"I get to meet the Charmed Ones! I get to meet the Charmed Ones!" Willow sang happily, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.

A moment later, Willow began running around like a headless chicken, Tara trying but failing to calm her down as she began to hyperventilate. After enjoying the show for a few more seconds, the rest of the group resumed the conversation.

"Who are the Charmed Ones?" Dawn asked, not knowing what the big deal was.

"They are the three most powerful natural born witches in the world," Xander told her.

"Natural born witches?"

"It means that they have been witches from birth, like Tara, as opposed to Willow who is a practitioner."

"Oh. What's a Whitelighter?"

"All natural born witches are assigned a guardian angel, or Whitelighter, to guide and protect them," Xander explained, his brow furrowing for a moment as he wondered why Tara didn't have one, and made a note to find out. "I will need to go to San Francisco to get them personally, as they are recovering from a tragedy at the moment and I need to go carefully with them."

"Who else will you be getting?" Joyce asked, finding it odd that she never thought that there were other people out there that did the same as her daughter.

"I won't actually need to get them all here, as some will find themselves heading to us in a week or so, and others would be noticeable by their absence." Xander suddenly realised something and turned to Angel. "Angel, I need to warn you that Blade will be coming. If I had a choice I wouldn't call him, given that he doesn't play well with others, but we need everyone we've got."

Angel's face paled at the news, which shocked those that knew as little to nothing eve made him react like that.

"Shit," he replied succinctly, shocking everyone further and earning him a look from Joyce given that Dawn was in the room. "I hope that he'll at least listen before trying to stake me."

"It might be wise to have Faith between you two just to be on the safe side," Xander suggested, and then wondered just how the half-vampire would do against a Slayer.

"Who is this Blade, and why would he stake Angel?" Buffy demanded instantly.

"Blade is half vampire," Angel explained, deciding it would be best if he were the one to do so. "He has all of our strengths but none of our weaknesses, apart from the thirst. He is also known as the Daywalker. The reason he doesn't like me, or to be specific Angelus, apart from the fact he'll sense me as a vampire, is that Angelus is the sire of Deacon Frost. Frost turned his mother while she was pregnant with him, making him what he is today. He's known as the best at what he does, and all he does is kill vampires."

"I can see how that would be a problem. Can't you just give him orders not to kill Fang?" Faith asked Xander.

"I would if I thought it would do any good. Blade isn't known as someone who follows orders. If Whistler were around he could probably control him, at least enough for Angel to explain the story before he kills him. Trouble is he was taken hostage by some vamps to keep Blade busy. I have someone on it at the moment, but I'm not sure what state Whistler will be in at any rate."

"Hey!" Buffy exclaimed suddenly. "I just realised that you said that Faith should get in the way. Why not me as well? Are you saying I can't protect him?"

Xander quickly took a step back from her, noticing the fire behind her eyes. "Of course not, I'm crazy not stupid. I was kind of hoping that you and Dawn would come with me to San Francisco, if Joyce doesn't mind of course," he added looking at the lady in question.

That quickly extinguished the anger that was beginning to rise in Buffy, replacing it with excitement, as she had never been to San Francisco before. She instantly looked towards Joyce with a pleading look in her eyes; she knew that she didn't need her mother's permission to go, but that didn't mean that she didn't want it.

"Why would I mind," Joyce said frankly, "as far as I'm concerned the safest place on Earth for either of my daughters to be is wherever you are."

Xander suddenly found the floor fascinating, as well as anywhere else that Joyce wasn't, finding it difficult to look into her eyes due to that compliment. "I'm not quite sure what to say to that."

"There's no need to say anything Xander," Joyce assured him, "your actions say all that needs to be said." Joyce then went over and kissed him on the cheek, something that caused him to blush. "Thank you for saving my daughter Xander. I wasn't able to tell you before, what with you dying."

Xander couldn't help but laugh at that, Joyce wasn't known to find humour in death, but since her own brush with it her viewpoint had been changed.

"All part of the service. I wasn't going to let anything happen to one of my girls."

"Possessive much?" Faith said with a snort.

"Jealous much?" he replied in kind.

Seeing that a row was soon going to develop, Joyce decided to cut it off at the pass. "When will you be leaving?" she asked Xander.

"As soon as possible; the sooner we get everything arranged the longer we have to prepare for the coming battle. I've arranged for the company jet to be prepared and ready to fly and it's now just waiting for us to get there."

"How come we aren't just going via Air Xander like before?" Dawn asked, having liked it the last time.

"The longer I can keep under their radar the better it is for all of us," he replied before turning to Giles. "I've gone over the details of the prophecy with Wes and Angel, so if you could confer with them Giles and try to work out some specifics that would be a great help."

"Of course, I'll do whatever I can."

"Of that I have no doubt," he assured him before his face turned pensive. "You may not agree to this, but I was going to suggest that we unbind your powers."

Confused looks crossed the faces of the Scooby Gang, Joyce asking the question they all wanted to know. "What is he talking about Rupert?"

Giles looked a little hesitant as he explained to everyone. "I've talked briefly about my 'Ripper' days in my youth, but what I didn't explain was that I was actually a rather powerful mage. I abused that power, Eyghon being the major example, and the only way I was allowed to join the Council was to have my powers bound. I am still able to cast some simple spells, but that is only a fraction of what I am capable of. I'm not entirely sure it would be a wise course of action Xander."

Seeing the way his suggestion had affected Giles, Xander made sure that he knew he was under no obligation. "The choice is yours Giles, I will of course abide by your decision. Just know that you do have the option available to you, and I wouldn't have even suggested it if I thought anything bad would come of it."

"I will consider it," Giles told him, and Xander nodded as he knew that was the best he would get at the moment. "In the meantime I will help with researching the prophecy. You said that you needed us to research the specifics, I take it that the prophecy is rather vague?"

"Not only that, it's also open ended. It only talks about the fact that a battle will occur, not what the outcome will be."

"I would have thought that would be a good thing, right?" Buffy commented.

"It's **definitely** better than it detailing our failure that's for sure, I just hate that there are so many unanswered questions."

Seeing his frustration, Wesley walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "We shall endeavour to have some answers for you by the time you return."

"I know you will. Wills, would you and Tara start researching on defensive spells; shields, barriers, healing, anything that will be useful."

"I take it that means we won't be on the front lines?" Willow asked with a slight frown.

Xander went over to Willow and Tara, bringing them both into a loose embrace. "It would take you two far too close to the black arts for my comfort; we don't need you being corrupted by the darkness halfway through the battle. The Charmed Ones are better suited to that type of magic, as they were born with their power."

"I don't like the fact were being side-lined," Tara told him firmly.

"You **won't** be, far from it in fact. You two will be the medics, along with Leo and a couple of others. We're too smart to think that we'll get away unharmed in this, or that we won't need any medical assistance. Don't forget that medics go wherever there are wounded, including the front lines."

"You three better get a move on if you want to get to San Fran at a reasonable hour. I'll even give you a lift," Angel offered.

The realisation that they're leaving now reminds Buffy of an important, well at least to her, point. "We don't have any clothes!"

Xander tried not to laugh at the look of pure horror that appeared on Buffy and Dawn's faces.

"Don't worry, we'll sort all that out when we get there," he assured them. "Hey Angel, you sound like you're trying to get rid of us?"

"I wasn't going to say anything but now you've mentioned it…" he trailed off with a small smile.

"Yack it up DB."

"DB?" Angel repeated, confused.

"I can't call you DeadBoy anymore so I decided on DB," Xander explained.

Angel shrugged off the new nickname. "It's better than Fang anyway."

"Hey!" Faith cried, indignant.

"Time's a wasting, lets hit the road," Angel said quickly, noticing the look in Faith's eyes.

Buffy and Dawn hugged Joyce and the others goodbye and followed Xander and Angel out to the car.


	4. Chapter 3: Charmed, I'm Sure

**Prophecies Suck II - All Or Nothing**

_**Chapter Three – Charmed, I'm Sure**_

**Private Jet, En Route To San Francisco.**

"This is **so** cool!" Dawn squealed as she looked out of the airplane window.

Both Xander and Buffy looked at Dawn with amused smiles, but refrained from commenting, as they'd heard her say that dozens of times during their flight. The entire time they had been on Xander's company jet, Dawn had been jumping around like she'd had thirty cups of double espresso.

This was Dawn's first **real** experience on a plane; she had memories of holidays the family had taken when she was younger, but as she was in actuality no more than a year old, she no longer counted them.

That's not to say she was still hung up over her origins; she had gotten over the fact that she had been nothing more than a ball of energy a year ago, and was finally enjoying being Dawn Summers, but the only way she felt she could do that was to focus on the memories she was making **now**, instead of the ones that had been made for her.

It was this that Buffy and Xander them smiling, as it was nice for them both to see her genuinely happy, instead of just pretending to be to make everyone else feel better.

"For the fiftieth time," Xander said in mock exasperation, "I agree with you Dawn. Anyway, you better sit down," he went on seriously, "we'll be landing soon and unless you want to be bounced around the cabin I suggest you get buckled up."

"Do I have to?" she whined. Using the pout and puppy eyes that normally meant she got what she wanted, Dawn waited for them to cave.

"**Yes**!" they told her in unison.

Realising that she wasn't going to win this one, Dawn grudgingly sat down. She did, however, ensure that she went as slowly as was feasibly possible.

"What are we doing once we get there?" Buffy asked her... whatever Xander was to her. She knew what she wanted to call him, but needed to speak with him first before doing so.

"First thing we'll do is get checked in; it's too late to do anything else, so we'll have an early night and then work out what to do in the morning," he told her.

The raised eyebrow he received from Buffy when he mentioned an early night didn't escape him, but Xander knew better than to start talking about it in front of Dawn. Not because she was too young, as living on the Hellmouth made people grow up quickly whether they liked it or not, but because she would blab everything to the others when they got back if they did and Joyce scared him, Power or not.

He knew that she seemed to approve of him and Buffy before he died, and that was a very weird thought to have, but she also knew of his time restriction here on Earth, and was worried that she may think their getting involved the wrong thing to do. He wasn't sure himself, as while he knew how he felt, and Buffy had made it clear before they left she felt the same, but inevitable departure would only break Buffy's heart once more, and he hated the thought of that happening. Of course, by not doing anything he'd probably be hurting her, so he was damned if he did and damned if he didn't.

Xander didn't know what to do, but hoped that things would become clearer during this trip.

* * *

They arrived ten minutes later in San Francisco, landing at a small private airport, and found a stretch limousine waiting for them on the tarmac. 

"Good Evening Mr Harris," the chauffeur greeted him as he alighted from the plane.

"Evening Harry," Xander replied, remembering him from his last time in San Francisco, "How's the family?"

"Little Alice started school recently, and Robin is walking up a storm. And of course, Emily is as beautiful as the day I first saw her."

"That's good to hear Harry." Xander turned and motioned to Buffy and Dawn. "Harry, I'd like you to meet Buffy and Dawn Summers. Buffy, Dawn, I'd like you to meet Harold Macus III."

"Is this **the** Buffy Summers, sir?" Harry asked, a little twinkle in his blue-grey eyes.

Xander flushed for a moment, having forgotten that he and Harry had talked quite a bit and most of Xander's side of the conversation included Buffy. Harry was one of the few people that Xander had immediately felt comfortable around, and had discussed his feeling for Buffy with him at length.

At the time, he had already made the decision not to pursue a relationship with her, having found the 'prophecy', but was feeling less than happy about it, and thought that a completely impartial viewpoint would be handy. He'd altered certain details, not wanting to send the man into a psychotic break, but Harry had made him realise that if he thought pursuing her would cause more misery than joy, then he was right in his decision.

Of course, he had never anticipated Harry and Buffy ever meeting, otherwise he would have probably used a different name for her.

"It is," he replied after a moment.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Harry told the two women with a smile, although he did flcik his gaze over to Buffy several times. "Mr Harris here spoke very highly of you."

"That's nice to hear," Buffy replied, wondering what it was he'd said for her to be remembered, "but I'm afraid I can't say the same."

Harry didn't take offence, as he knew that Xander would not have spoken of him to the young lady, especially given their previous discussion. Harry had been a chauffeur all of his life, and in fact owned his own company, and he'd driven people from all walks of life but Xander stood out from them all. There was just something about the young man that had stuck in his memory, not least because his company kept his company on retainer, paying well above the going rate to have a limousine ready and waiting at all times.

When Harry had found out that Xander was coming, he had decided to assign himself the task of being his driver, wanting to ensure that he had the best possible service available to him. Realising that the sun was starting to make its final descent, Harry went and opened the door for the trio.

"Your carriage awaits."

Xander let Dawn and Buffy get into the limousine first, and before he got in with them, he turned to Harry. "It's good to see you again Harry, and thanks for doing this."

"All part of the service, sir," Harry replied with a smile.

"Will I ever get you to call me Xander?" he asked with a sigh, although his eyes showed amusement.

"Possibly, sir," Harry told him with a smile.

Xander laughed, knowing that Harry was too much of a professional to call him by his first name on duty, and got into the limousine.

* * *

**The Ritz Carlton, San Francisco.**

Thirty minutes later, they arrived at their final destination; the Ritz Carlton, one of the most exclusive hotels in the city.

"Will you be needing me again tonight sir?" Harry asked as he opened the door for Xander and the others.

"No Harry, have a good evening and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Very good sir."

As Harry drove away, a man came out of the hotel and walked up to them, their uniform indicating that they were a member of staff. "Good Evening Mr. Harris," the concierge greeted him as they approached the entrance, "the penthouse suite is ready and waiting for you. Do you have any bags sir?" he asked.

Xander took a quick look at the man's name badge before he replied. "No Roger we don't; we had to get here as soon as possible, and had little time to pack. I am sure that Buffy and Dawn here will be in the mood to rectify that situation tomorrow, however, and I would appreciate it if you could offer any assistance they might require."

"I am sure that things can be arranged for them sir," Roger told him with a smile, knowing that anyone from Savox Industries would be a big tipper; the company was known throughout America as one of the most philanthropic organisations in the continent, funding a multitude of charities and community programs the length and breadth of the country. Their staff as a whole shared those same characteristics, and although they travelled the world in style and stayed in some of the most exclusive hotels, they were always courteous and had a reputation for being very generous to those that helped them. "The Porter will take you to your room."

"Thank you," Xander replied with a smile, and then motioned for Buffy and Dawn to follow the Porter, Xander already knowing the way.

The trio followed the Porter across the lobby to the elevator and, after slipping in a security card to allow access, took it to the top floor. Once there, they continued to follow him to the door to their room, the only door on that floor it seemed. When he opened the door and they went inside, both Dawn and Buffy gasped in shock at the sight before them; they had heard the concierge talk about a penthouse suite, but neither of them had expected anything like this.

The room they walked into was immense, probably the same size as the first floor of their house. Three large white leather couches formed a C in the middle of the room, surrounding a large marble coffee table. Ornate rugs covered the polished wood floor. They could see through the door to the bathroom, just managing to see the walk in shower and large Jacuzzi bath. The two other doors that are closed they both assume are the bedrooms.

"Are we in the right room?" Buffy asked in shock.

"Why, is something wrong?" the Porter asked, concerned that something might be wrong.

"Nothing is wrong," Xander assured him with a smile, "she's just a little shocked is all."

Wanting some privacy, Xander handed the Porter a few bills, who immediately nodded in thanks and walked out the door.

"Not that I'm complaining," Dawn said, "but aren't you spending a lot of money here?"

"Actually, no," Xander replied. "I am the CEO of Savox Industries, and as such I have access to the company jet whenever possible. My company reserves this suite all year round for visitors or when one of the Board of Directors is in the area. The same goes for the limousine that we came in, so in actual fact I've hardly spent anything so far, at least not anything that wouldn't have been spent anyway."

"Oh," Dawn said quietly, actually feeling a little disappointed that everything hadn't been done just for them, in spite of her previous statement.

"That doesn't mean that money will not be spent," Xander told her, noticing her mood. "As I said to Roger downstairs, I am assuming that you and Buffy will be in the mood to get some clothes?"

"Well, the thought had crossed my mind," she admitted with a grin.

"Do I have to remind you Dawn that we have no money?" Buffy pointed out, neither her nor Dawn thinking of bringing anything other than themselves when they drove from Sunnydale.

Xander smiled a little wider. "I can rectify that." Xander then went over to small table next to the door, pulled out something and then gave it to Buffy.

Buffy looked down at her hand and saw a black American Express card lying there, imaginary speech bubbles surrounding it telling her to use it. Once the two Summers women realised just what it was Xander had given them, a gleam appeared in both Dawn and Buffy's eyes.

"You do realise what you've done?" Buffy asked him.

Xander nodded, and although he knew he should probably shiver in fright, all he did was smile. "I've given two Californian women a no-limit credit card to go shopping with. The only thing I'm going to say is that the jet can only hold so much."

He barely got to finish his sentence before the two daughters of Joyce Summers tried to squeeze the life out of him, an impressive thing to try as he was already dead, but if anyone could succeed it would be those two.

"What are you going to be doing while we empty the shops?" Dawn asked as she began to imagine everything she wanted to get, almost reaching euphoric levels as she realised she could actually get it all.

"Meeting the Halliwells," he replied, causing both Buffy and Dawn to immediately let him go.

"Why aren't we going with you?" Buffy asked.

Both Dawn and Buffy were now giving him the puppy eyes. Xander quickly realised that he needs to explain the situation before he caved in and let them come along.

"As I told you before, they've just gone through a personal tragedy. Their oldest sister has just died, and they are all both physically and emotionally tired. The less people that go the better it is, especially as they will not be overly enthused about the reason I'm paying a visit. You will be meeting them before we go back, but it's better if I make first contact."

Buffy didn't like the idea of letting him go by himself, but she knew that he could take care of himself, not that he should be in any danger of them as they're supposed to be Champions like herself.

The real reason she didn't want him to do it alone was that she wanted to savour every moment that he was on Earth. She knew that no matter how things turned out he would be going back where he came from, and therefore didn't want to waste a single opportunity to spend time with him.

"Fine," Buffy told him with a sigh of disappointment, "but this doesn't mean I like it."

"We wouldn't have had this conversation if you **did** like it, would we? Nothing is going to happen," he assured her, "and there isn't a lot out there that can even touch me."

"It's the things that **can** touch you that worry me."

It wasn't often that fear crept into the voice of Buffy Summers, Vampire Slayer, but it couldn't be missed this time. The people that Buffy cared for would always be her Achilles Heel, and the one sure-fire way to get through her normally formidable defences, and this time was no different.

Xander pulled her into another hug, gently kissed the top of her head and began to rub small circles into the small of her back. It had an instant effect, and Buffy soon felt a lot calmer than before.

A blatantly false coughing fit from Dawn reminded them both that she was still in the room, mores the pity, and they turned their attention to her. "As I have a hard day's shopping ahead of me tomorrow," she told them, "I need to get some sleep. Which one's which?" she asked, referring to the two bedrooms.

Xander and Buffy exchanged looks before he answered. "My room is on the left, and yours and Buffy's is on the right. Don't worry," he told them as he saw them about to protest, "there are two beds in there so you won't be sharing."

That extinguished the fire in the eyes of both Summers girls, who were going to complained most vocally about having to share a bed. They would have complained about having to share a bedroom, but Dawn was too tired and Buffy was worried that Dawn would make some comment about having ulterior motives.

Dawn nodded once in acknowledgement of that and, after mumbling a goodnight, walked to the bedroom, yawning all the way there.

"Dawn has the right idea; it's going to be a long day tomorrow and we'll both need our energy. I definitely need my sleep as it's been months since I last needed to," he added, speaking the truth.

While he wouldn't normally feel tired, as was proven with his time at the SGC, meeting up with his friends and family again had been an emotionally draining affair, and a few hours of honest to goodness sleep would do him the world of good, especially as it would probably quite draining dealing with the Halliwells tomorrow.

"Yes, well, I better get to bed too, beauty sleep is key," Buffy replied less than enthusiastically, not wanting to leave Xander's side.

"I thought that was Dawn," Xander replied with a little grin, making a note to fix that, before he leant down and left a soft, lingering kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight Buff."

"Night Xander."

They shared a look, and then retreated to their respective rooms. Xander got undressed and then got straight into bed, suddenly feeling very tired. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he heard the door to his room open and close, followed by footsteps and then a small but perfectly formed body getting into bed next to him. With a small smile he pulled Buffy to him, wrapping his arm around her waist, making sure that her body was in contact with as much of his own as possible.

Hearing a mumble that he took to mean goodnight, he kissed her in the crown of her hair and fell into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

When Xander woke up the following morning, he found himself alone in the bed. For a moment he thought that he had dreamed the previous night, not that he and Buffy had done much to dream about, that is until he picked up the unmistakable scent of Buffy on his pillow and smiled in contentment. 

He'd fulfilled the majority of his fantasies last night by having Buffy in his bed, the only fantasies he didn't fulfil were either of a more sexual nature or a marital one. He wasn't sure that he'd ever fulfil the latter given the circumstances, but the former was a higher probability. Of course, while he would like nothing more than to experience that with Buffy, he wasn't sure if it would be right to do so knowing that it would only be a temporary thing.

For a moment he wondered why she had left so early, fleeting thinking that she might have had second thoughts of even lying beside him, but then realised that she must have got up and got into her own bed so Dawn didn't know where she actually slept.

One of the benefits of being a Power was that he no longer needed to wash, although he knew that if he tried to do so around Buffy and Dawn they'd say something about it, so instead of simply getting out of bed and getting dressed, he instead took a change of clothes in with him to the bathroom and made himself look as presentable as possible.

When he finished getting ready, he noticed that neither Buffy nor Dawn were awake yet, so he called room service and ordered breakfast for the three of them. He also ordered a change of clothes for them both, realising that a woman doesn't like to wear the same things twice, especially not in a row.

Half an hour later the clothes and food were delivered, the scent of food bringing the Summers sisters out of their room.

"Morning Xander," Dawn greeted him a little sleepily, "can I smell food?"

"Indeed you do fair maiden," he replied with a smile, "in fact there's a veritable smorgasbord of food awaiting to be consumed by yourself and your sister."

"What about you?"

"I don't actually need to eat," he told her, "I did last night but that was more for everyone else's benefit as opposed to my actually needing to."

"It's going to be strange seeing you around food and not devouring it," Dawn commented with a smirk.

Buffy nodded in agreement. "You always did seem to eat almost constantly."

"I'll have you know that Savox demons have an extremely high metabolism, making it necessary for them to eat almost constantly," he informed them both haughtily.

"Or it could be that you were simply a pig," Buffy replied quickly.

"You're entitled to your opinion, it's wrong, but you're entitled to it. Now chow down before the food gets cold," Xander instructed, indicating the food.

Both of them complied eagerly, and there was a comfortable silence between the trio as the girls ate. Xander did join them a little, but again it was just for show as he knew that Buffy and Dawn weren't just teasing him when they said it would be strange to see him eat. He had gotten used to it, given that time worked differently upstairs and he'd actually been gone longer in his perspective than they all believed, but he still missed the sensation of being sated after a hearty meal. It just didn't feel the same when there was nothing to gain from it.

Once they'd finished off the food, the girls making the appropriate noises about having to exercise more to burn it off, something Xander had denied strongly to earn himself some brownie points, Dawn noticed the new clothes.

"What are these?" she asked.

"And you call yourself a female?" Xander mocked. "Those, my dear, are called clothes."

"I know that doofus," she snapped with a smile, "I meant who are they for?"

"You and Buffy of course. I didn't think you would want to wear the clothes you came in for another day. I hope you like them," he told them, suddenly feeling a little apprehensive.

Both Dawn and Buffy rushed and grab the clothes, and then raced to get washed and dressed, Xander observing them with a grin at the bickering that came from them trying to work out who got to use the bathroom first.

After about an hour of waiting, and trying not to laugh out loud at their almost non-stop squabbling, they were both finally ready. Dawn was in a black sleeveless top, a lilac hooded sweatshirt and a pair of grey stretch jeans. Buffy was wearing a white halter neck top, a simple pair of black trousers and a suede jacket.

"I must admit you have good taste," Buffy complimented, "it's a shame you didn't use it for yourself."

"Hey!" Xander cried indignantly.

"Buffy's right," Dawn agreed, "some of your shirts looked like a Fyarl demon puked on them."

"One more comment about my fashion sense and the clothes get sent back!" he warned them in a huff, only half joking.

This of course instantly stopped any further comments about Xander's appalling taste in fashion from being uttered by either woman. It was of course extremely difficult for both of them, but they managed it somehow.

"So do you know where the shops are," Buffy asked eventually, "as I haven't the faintest idea."

"I thought women could sense a clothes shop from miles away?" That remark got him a slap to the back of the head. It didn't hurt, but he made it look like it did simply to appease her. "Between the concierge and Harry, I'm sure that you'll manage to find what you're looking for."

"What about you?" Dawn asked. "Won't you be needing Harry?"

"I'll get a cab," he assured her, "I doubt pulling up in a stretch limo will give off the right impression."

"What impression are you trying to make?" Buffy asked.

Xander smirked. "That I'm desperate."

"Just tell them you're in love with Buffy," Dawn told him with a smirk.

Buffy glared at her angrily. "**Hey**!"

"On that note I think it's time that you two left," Xander said as he got up. He knew how those two could get if left to their own devices, and if they wanted to have any time left for shopping, he had to nip their bickering in the bud. "Have fun, and I'll meet you two back here tonight."

Xander moved round the table and gave both Summers women a hug, Buffy's lasting longer than Dawn's by quite a margin, and then watched them leave, knowing that Harry was already waiting for them downstairs in the lobby. He'd arranged for Harry to be there while they'd gotten changed, and asked him to ensure they were taken to the best places to shop in the city, hoping that it would keep them occupied and, more importantly, out of trouble.

He spent the next couple of hours debating over the best way to have the conversation with the Halliwells, trying to balance his condolences with apprising them of the current situation and garnering their support. He really did need their support, not only because they were major Champions for their side, but also because they were riding an emotional tightrope at the moment, and several of the Powers believed that they may well be susceptible to influence from the other side. Personally he didn't think so, but grief was a powerful thing and it would only take a nudge here and a nudge there and he could easily be proven wrong.

Realising that all the planning in the world wouldn't amount to a hill of beans if he never bit the bullet and went over there, Xander eventually left the penthouse and asked Roger to hail him a cab, which arrived less than thirty seconds later. Fifteen minutes later, the cab was pulling up outside Halliwell Manor, and the construction worker in him appreciated the look and feel of the building.

Less than thirty seconds after the cab drove away, a body came crashing out of one of the front windows, and Xander barely had time to move out of the way.

"I hope I get a better welcome," he muttered to himself.

Xander was only half surprised when the body sprung back to its feet a couple of moments later, the surprise becoming full blown as, instead of returning to the Manor, the figure turned its head to face him, making it look like something from The Exorcist. He's only half surprised that the body gets up.

"Death to the traitor!" it roared, as its eyes flashed a deep purple before firing a ball of energy at him.

"There needs to be a general meeting between demons so they can work on a way to get some original material," he commented as he dodged the energy ball instinctively.

It only took Xander a second to realise that there was nothing a low level demon could do to him, even before he died, and that it was time he stopped pretending otherwise. To that end, when the demon fired at him a second time he simply caught it in one hand and then closed absorbed it within himself, before going on the offensive. He knew that he could simply fire an energy ball in return, but he still wanted to remain under the radar as long as possible, so he instead used his superior speed to move in closer, retrieving a dagger from his jacket as he did so, and then thrust it into the demons chest.

For a moment the demon didn't worry about the wound, thinking that as it was a simple knife the damage would be superficial at best. What it forgot to remember was that anything brandished as a weapon by a higher being was classified as a holy weapon, but it soon had its memory jogged as it screamed in agony before bursting in a flash of purple fire.

As Xander turned around, he found that Piper and Phoebe, the two remaining charmed ones, and Leo, their Whitelighter, were watching him.

"Uh, hi," he greeted awkwardly, knowing that his introduction could have gone a little smoother.

"Don't 'Hi' me," Piper snapped, "how did you just kill that demon?"

Her gaze was nothing short of venomous; her first thoughts were that he was another demon that wanted to kill them, and was simply removing the competition so he could do it himself. When Xander didn't respond right away, which was mainly because he hadn't expected such open hostility, she took that to mean she was right in her theory and went to destroy him with her newly awakened power, only to be stopped by her husband Leo.

"I'm sorry My Lord," Leo told Xander formally, "things have been strained recently. Please accept my apologies."

Xander sighed when Leo called him 'My Lord', and things only got worse when Leo proceeded to get on one knee to him.

"Why are you bowing to this man, and why are you calling him lord?" Piper asked her husband in puzzlement.

The emphasis on the word man was not lost on Xander, and knew that it was a clear jab at his age. "I can answer that one for you Mrs. Wyatt," he replied formally, "but it might be better if we had this conversation inside. Only if you would like of course."

Xander watched as Phoebe and Piper had a silent discussion, both knowing that Leo would support their decision, even if he didn't agree with it.

"Fine," Phoebe told him, "you can come in but if we feel that you're lying to us…" she trailed off, ensuring that Xander was aware of what would happen should he try anything, but not voicing them specifically just in case he was on the up and up.

Xander followed the trio into the manor, and sat down on the chair furthest away from the door.

"Right, now we're inside explain why my husband called you lord?" Piper told him, her tone making it clear it wasn't a request.

"Firstly I would like to introduce myself; my name is Alexander Harris but I prefer to be called Xander. The reason why Leo called me lord is because I am one of the Powers That Be, which means that I am one or two steps above Elders in the celestial hierarchy. I do not, however, like all the formalities that the others have imposed on our sub-ordinates, so I'm going to ask you, Leo, to call me Xander," he requested, looking at Leo as he did so.

"If that's what you want my lo… Xander," Leo replied, only just catching his slip.

Xander realised that Leo was only doing it because he asked him, as the rules stipulated that when he said jump Leo wouldn't as how high he'd just jump as high as was physically possible, but hoped that over time he would come around.

"That may explain who you are," Piper conceded, "but it doesn't explain why you're here."

"There are a few reasons; one of them is to convey my sincere condolences for your loss. I cannot begin to understand how you are feeling right now and won't pretend otherwise," he told them sincerely, knowing that he would be inconsolable if one of his friends or family were to die.

"Thank you," Phoebe replied, her voice thick with emotion. "You said that was one of the reasons you're here?"

"Yes Ms. Halliwell. The problem is I know that you are not going to be very receptive to either one; I would wait longer if there were the option, but I'm afraid that time is against me. I was only recently given the position as one of the PTB, I'm sure that Leo will be able to fill in the details surrounding that so I won't bore you with them now, but what Leo **won't** know is that a prophecy has surfaced concerning the fate of the planet…"

"I don't care!" Piper snapped, cutting him off. "Our sister has just died, fighting the good fight like we'd been asked to do the last three years. Where were you then? Where were you the countless times we'd almost died? Where were you when our sister died? You did nothing to save her, so you and everyone else can all go to hell!"

"Piper," Leo said soothingly, flicking his eyes to Xander several times, "of all the people to be angry at, Xander should be at the bottom of the list."

"Don't worry Leo, it's alright." Xander turned his attention back to Piper, trying not to show how those comments had hurt and angered him. "To answer your question Mrs. Wyatt, at the time of your sister's death, I was battling a hell goddess who was trying to open a portal home, which would have caused our world and hers to merge. That is something that would **not** have been good for the human population. I died stopping her, and it was a month or so after my death that I was appointed as one of the PTB. Whether you want to believe me or not, if there was a way that I could have helped stop what happened to your sister I would have done in a heartbeat, even if it meant giving my own in exchange."

"Not to sound rude or anything, but how did a human stop a goddess and become a Power? And by the way you can call me Phoebe," the younger of the two sisters told him with a smile, which showed that she did not hold the same animosity as Piper.

"OK, Phoebe. You've dealt with some seriously nasty demons, and yet you're human, just with a few extras. Humans are capable of far more than most believe them to be, extra abilities or not. However, the fact of the matter Phoebe was that I wasn't human; I was actually a pureblood Savox demon."

As soon as she heard the word demon, Piper stood up and tried to vanquish Xander with her new power, getting annoyed when she found that she couldn't, no matter how many times she tried. "I knew it!" she screamed as she continued to try and kill him. "Get out of my house!"

Her anger was rolling off her in waves, but Xander could see that it wasn't focused so much on him as it was at everything. He was simply a convenient outlet for that anger.

"Piper you need to calm down," Leo warned her, knowing that Xander would not continue to just sit there and allow her to try and blow him up, and was still a little unsure as to how he would retaliate.

Before Piper could reply to her husbands words, which probably save Leo from losing something he'd miss, Xander began to talk again.

"Mrs. Wyatt, I was a demon, but I had a soul and wasn't evil. I know that you hate demons, understandable under the circumstances, but you must know by now that things like this are not as cut and dried as 'all demons are evil'. I've spent the last five years fighting evil on the Hellmouth, doing my best to keep the people I loved safe from harm, and included in that group is one of the two Slayers in the world. I dedicated my life to fighting evil, and even gave my life to the cause, only to find out that I didn't have to die in the first place."

"What do you mean by that?" Piper asked, her ire dying down slightly during his speech.

"It means that I have as much right to hate prophecies as you do," Xander replied, not wanting to get into that at the moment. "Anyway, I took my position as one of the PTB so I could continue to look after my friends and family, and anyone else that needed it. When I found out how you have been treated by the Elders, I ripped them all a new one. They're not as bad as my fellow Powers, but they still see you more like a tool than anything else, and I ensured that they knew that. To make a long story short, the Elders no longer have any hold over you. From now on, Leo will only have the Charmed Ones as his charges, and will no longer answer to the Elders; instead he will answer to me." When he saw that Piper was going to speak up, he raised his hand and was surprised when it worked and she kept quiet. "Leo has complete veto on any tasks I may ask him to perform; his primary responsibility will always be to you and no one else, except possibly 'Him'."

Xander's revelations shocked the residents of the manor, as well as calming them all down. Piper, however, was not as willing to let go of all the anger. "Let me guess, all this is on the condition that we help you with this upcoming war?"

"Absolutely not; no matter what you decide, you will no longer be under the hold of the Elders. I would **never** coerce or force anyone to put their lives on the line, I only want people that fight because they want to, not because they feel they have to."

He was looking Piper square in the eye and she could tell that he was speaking the truth. She reminded herself that her powers were useless against him, and that he could have killed them all several times over if that had been his intention. She finally relaxed, her head ruling over her heart once more, and Piper sat back down on the couch next to her husband and sister.

"This is all a little overwhelming," Phoebe said, "but you said that there was another thing you wanted to tell us?"

"There is," Xander replied hesitantly, suddenly realising that landing everything on them all at once would not be wise, "but it might be wise to leave that for another time. I'll let you think about everything that has happened today and meet you tomorrow?" he suggested.

"I don't think that would be a problem," Leo told him agreeably, still reticent to outright refuse even a suggestion from someone of Xander's station. "Why don't you meet us at P3, a club that Piper owns, tomorrow night and we can talk there?"

"Would it be OK if I bring along a couple of companions? Buffy, the Slayer I talked about earlier, and her younger sister Dawn came with me and would like to meet you."

"I don't see why not," Piper told him, deciding to go along with her husband for the time being. She still wasn't entirely trusting of him, but knew enough to know that she needed to know more before making her decision. Then the businesswoman side of her came to play. "One thing, how old is Dawn?"

"Depending on how you look at it, either 16 or one," Xander replied with a small smile.

"Huh?"

"Trust me," he told them, "it's a long story that Dawn loves to tell people who won't consider her insane."

"I have a couple like that," Phoebe said with a grin.

"I don't think Dawn's mom would be too happy if you told her **those** stories, Phoebe," Piper commented with a smirk before turning her attention back to Xander. "I'm afraid that we have an age limit at the club and Dawn is not old enough to come in."

"Couldn't you let it go this once?" Phoebe asked her sister, knowing what it was like when she'd wanted to go somewhere with her sisters only to be told she wasn't old enough.

Xander spoke up before Piper could reply. "No, I wouldn't want you to do that on our behalf; that would be unfair to everyone else." he thought for a moment and then turned to Leo. "Leo, would you be able to help me with something?"

"That depends on what it is," he replied warily, earning himself a smile of approval from Xander.

"Good answer, you're learning. I was wondering if you would be able to orb over to LA and bring Buffy and Dawn's mother, Joyce, here so she could look after her. I could treat them to dinner at a restaurant or something."

"Don't take this the wrong way but why can't you do it?" Leo asked not unkindly, knowing that Xander's abilities far overshadowed his own.

"I'm not strictly speaking supposed to be down here; you know as well as I do that having a Power on Earth causes a lot of problems. If I use my powers too often, it will ring warning bells with the other side and we'll lose any advantage we have."

"Right, of course I'll do that," Leo told him with a smile, having had no intention of refusing him in the first place, "but it might be wise to warn them that I'm coming."

"Of course. Well I better be off," Xander said as he stood up, "it's been nice meeting you Phoebe, Leo, Mrs. Wyatt."

Piper's face screwed up a little at the way Xander called her Mrs. Wyatt, as she decided that it made her sound old, and was a little miffed that he called Phoebe by her first name but not her. "I've just noticed that you haven't called me Piper since you've been here."

"I never use a ladies first unless given permission," Xander informed her, hiding a smile. In actuality, he'd continued to call her that as he'd noticed her less than enthusiastic response to it. He'd been losing his patience with her almost from the start, but hadn't wanted to outwardly show it, so used that as a way of annoying her without making it obvious.

"In that case permission granted," Piper told him with a smile, unaware of Xander's thoughts.

"Thank you, Piper," he replied with a nod. "I'll ring you later to finalise when to be at P3 tomorrow, and to give Leo details on where Joyce is staying at the moment."

"OK. I want to apologise for trying to vanquish you earlier," she told him a little sheepishly, especially as she'd done so at least a dozen times.

"I've found that almost every gorgeous woman that meets me has that same feeling."

A slight blush appeared on Piper's face, along with a not very well hidden death glare towards Xander from Leo.

"So you think I'm gorgeous?" she asked coyly, always happy to receive a compliment.

Xander noticed that the death glare coming from Leo intensified, so to diffuse the situation he decided to be as tactful as he could be. "In an absolutely platonic way of course; your husband is an extremely lucky man."

Piper smirked when she finally noticed the look that Xander was receiving from Leo, which only widened when she saw the expression disappear the moment Xander's words registered.

"What about me, do you think I'm gorgeous?" Phoebe asked him, not wanting to be left out.

As she was saying this, Phoebe was walking up to him with a slightly exaggerated sway to her hips. Xander was of course flattered, having an attractive woman flirt with you is always a good thing, but also knew that he would need to nip that in the bud before she met Buffy.

"You are as gorgeous as your sister," he replied diplomatically, knowing how competitive sisters could be, "again in an absolutely platonic way."

"Why are you saying platonic all the time?" she asked him.

"You'll be meeting Buffy tomorrow and I would like to keep my genitals where they are," Xander replied honestly, receiving smiles in response.

"Ahh, so you two are together?"

"As much as possible," Xander replied with a nod, knowing how that sounded but not wanting to explain the circumstances behind it.

A smirk appeared on Phoebe's face. "I'll bet."

"On that note I better be going," he said, turning his attention to Piper. "Is it OK if I use your phone to call a cab?"

"No need," Leo told him, "I'll take you where you need to go."

"Thanks, I'm staying in the penthouse suite at the Ritz Carlton."

"Isn't that a little bit indulgent for a Power?" she asked, thinking that he might be abusing his abilities.

"My being a power has nothing to do with it; before I died I was the sole owner of Savox Industries, and given that it isn't general knowledge that I died, I still am. Because I still need to keep a low profile, supernaturally speaking, I'm keeping to human transport as much as possible, hence the penthouse suite, private jet and chauffeur driven limousine."

"If you have a chauffeur driven limousine why would you need a cab?" Piper asked incredulously.

Xander smiled softly. "His services are currently being used by Buffy and Dawn, as they try to reach the limit to my no-limit credit card."

"You must really love her if you let her go shopping with your credit card," she commented, only half joking. She had seen in that smile just how much he cared for her, and it only helped to further believe him to be on the level, as it's is nigh on impossible for anyone evil to show those kinds of emotions.

"I would, and in fact **did**, die for her, so a shopping spree is nothing. Anyway I can afford it," he told them, knowing that they would be too polite to ask how much he was worth, at least for the moment. After a moment he turned his attention back to Leo. "I'm ready when you are Leo."

Leo put his hand on Xander's shoulder and orbed them back to the hotel, appearing in the living area of the penthouse. "Nice place," he commented as he took in his surroundings.

"Thanks," he replied with a smile, before he turned serious. While he had decided not to talk about the other subject with the sisters, he needed to with Leo. "Now we're alone, we can talk about Paige."

Xander wasn't surprised to see that Leo knew who he was talking about, especially as he'd all but ordered the others to inform him. He indicated towards the couches and the two sat down.

"I thought that was the other thing you wanted to talk to them about," Leo commented after a moment, knowing how difficult the news of her existence would be on his wife and sister-in-law.

"How come you haven't told them about her?" he asked him, and when he saw the look that Leo gave him, quickly back-pedalled a little, not meaning it to sound like an accusation. "I'm not accusing you of anything, I'm simply curious; you're known for your reluctance to withhold information from them."

Leo nodded in acceptance of that, knowing that Xander was right in his assessment. He sighed and sunk a little further into the couch before he replied. "I didn't even know of her existence until a couple of days ago," he began, "your colleagues had kept her well hidden from everyone, and with the way things have been lately there hasn't exactly been the right time to broach the subject. The other reason why I hadn't told them yet is because I felt that it was too soon after Prue's death, and still do."

After a moment to take in what Leo told him, Xander nodded in understanding. "If I were in your position I would probably feel the same," he assured him, his reluctance to inform Buffy and the others of the 'prophecy' being a prime example. "You do realise, however, that Paige is here in San Francisco looking for her sisters?"

"Actually I didn't," Leo told him in surprise, "does she know who they are?"

"No, she has followed some leads to this city, but has no idea of the names of her sisters or that they're witches," Xander explained. "I've set up a meeting with her posing as a contact, but I wanted to have a word with Piper and Phoebe before I did. I don't want to force them into something they're not ready for, even if it's necessary."

"What do you mean necessary?"

"You must have noticed that the amount of demons that have come after Piper and Phoebe has increased dramatically since Prue's death," Xander remarked, waiting for Leo to nod before he continued. "They know that the Power of Three is no more, and are taking advantage of the situation in hopes of eliminating the remaining Charmed Ones."

"With everything that's been going on recently I hadn't noticed the rise in demon attacks," Leo admitted, "but now that you've brought it to my attention they do seem to be hell bent, pardon the pun, to get them out of the way."

"Paige can change all that by restoring the Power of Three, and thereby keeping them all safe, or at least as safe as they could be given the circumstances," Xander explained. "Also, once news gets out that there's another Halliwell sister on the scene, they're going to be after her with everything they've got, and I doubt losing another relative will do either Phoebe or Piper any good right now, even if it is a relative they'd previously known nothing about."

"You're right that restoring the power of three is the best way to keep them safe, Paige included, but that can only happen if they are all willing to do so."

Xander nodded, knowing that the ritual can only be performed if they do so of their own free will. "That's why I want to be as careful about how I do this as possible. I know that this is putting you in a difficult position, but what would you suggest?"

"I'm not sure to be honest with you," Leo replied with a shrug. "For Paige to be able to complete the Power of Three, she needs to believe in magic and the supernatural, and for Piper and Phoebe to accept her as a sister."

"The only sure fire way I know of convincing anyone of the supernatural is for them to see it with their own two eyes, with the downside being that it may completely freak her out and push her away." Xander sighed and put his hands through his hair. "Either way, she needs to know and time is against all of us if we want a chance of keeping everyone safe, so leading her into it gently just isn't an option."

"Whatever you decide I know that you'll do your best to keep them all safe," Leo assured him, "that trait is something that everyone respects in you, and also made your appointment as a Power an easier pill to swallow for everyone."

Further conversation was cut short as Buffy and Dawn came in at that moment, almost invisible behind the mountain of shopping that was being brought in by several Porters, which Xander knew Dawn would be glad of. Buffy could have brought them all up by herself once she'd worked out the logistics of carrying that many bags in one go, but Dawn would have had problem getting them to the lobby, let alone to the penthouse.

Xander got up from the couch and, after the Poerts had finished bringing everything in, gave them all generous tips for their help and allowed them to leave before addressing the girls.

"Enjoy yourselves?" he asked with a small smile, already knowing the answer from the glows on their faces.

"You bet!" Dawn exclaimed happily, tiredly but happily. "I cannot believe that we actually got to the point where we felt we couldn't shop anymore!"

Buffy nodded in agreement, also looking tired. "We both looked at each other half an hour ago and decided that we simply couldn't shop a moment longer. If Cordelia ever found out she'd cut up our Californian girl membership cards, burn them, feed them to a dog and then burn it's… excrement." Buffy had finally noticed that Xander wasn't alone and decided not to swear in front of a complete stranger. "Xander, who's this?"

"This is Leo Wyatt, Piper and Phoebe's Whitelighter," Xander introduced. "Leo, it's my great pleasure to introduce Buffy the Vampire Slayer and her sister Dawn."

Leo took a step forward and nodded in their direction. "It's a pleasure to meet both of you."

"Likewise," Buffy replied before turning her attention back to Xander. "How did the meeting go Xander?"

Xander shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh the usual; killed a demon, nearly got killed by Leo's wife..."

"**What**!" Buffy and Dawn screamed simultaneously, cutting Xander off and causing him to move back a step. Summers women were scary when riled.

"She's under a lot of stress, I couldn't blame her for being on edge," he told them, deciding it was better to try and explain her actions than defend them. "I was in no danger from her anyway, being a Power has its advantages you know."

"Not really," Buffy mumbled sourly.

Xander could hear the sadness in her voice, probably from remembering that their time together was short, and pulled her into an embrace. "There is of course the one **big** disadvantage that stops me from enjoying it," he whispered in her ear before laying a kiss on her temple. He could feel her smile against his chest and it sent a shiver running down his spine.

A cough from behind them ended the moment and they look to the source of the noise they find Leo looking at them.

"I hate to interrupt," Leo told them apologetically, "but I'll need to be getting back in a couple of minutes. Would you be able to give me the address?"

Xander gave Leo a grateful nod, as he didn't comment what the address was for, which allowed him to explain the situation to Dawn in a way that wouldn't overly upset her. He released Buffy, reluctantly, and then went over to the side table by the front door and wrote the address down on a piece of note paper, which he folded in half before he then gave it to Leo.

"Here you go," he told him, "I'll let them know that you're coming so nobody tries to stab you or anything. Thanks again for the lift, and I'll see you and the sisters tomorrow night."

"Sure, not a problem," Leo told him with a smile, and then turned to the two Summers women. "It was nice to meet you ladies." With that Leo orbed out of the room.

"That looks so cool! Can you do that?" Dawn asked Xander excitedly.

"Sure can, but until more things are in place it's best that I don't," he replied, knowing that she would probably want him to show her.

"So apart from having Leo's wife trying to blow you up, did everything go OK?" Buffy asked, still feeling a little miffed that it happened.

"Mostly, they're all grieving over Prue, the sister who died, and are pretty pissed with almost everyone and everything," he explained. "Piper wasn't really angry at me, she just needed a focus for her anger and I was the closest target. As you probably guessed, I've arranged to meet them at the club the sisters own tomorrow night."

Dawn's eyes gleamed at the thought of going to a club. "Cool!"

Xander winced, knowing that his news would **not** go down well. "I'm afraid you can't come Dawn," he told her apologetically, "they have an age restriction."

"That's so unfair!" Dawn exclaimed, stamping her foot to show just how unfair she thought it to be.

Buffy wasn't all that bothered about Dawn not going in, as she shouldn't be going anywhere like that until she was in her thirties, but it did bring up another point on contention. "We can't leave her here alone Xander," she told him, thoughts of them returning to find the hotel on fire running through her mind.

"We won't be," he assured her, "Leo is going to collect Joyce from LA and I'm going to treat her and Dawn to dinner and a movie."

"I want to go to the club with you two!" Dawn shouted grumpily, hating to feel like she was being left out.

"I know you do Dawn," Xander replied, sympathising with her, "but I know you and your mom will have a lot of fun tomorrow night. I know that you've wanted to spend some quality time alone with her and this is the perfect chance."

Xander knew that Dawn has been feeling a little neglected lately, not in the literal sense, but she hasn't had a lot of time alone with Joyce as everyone has been doing more things as a group since he died. Losing one of the core group hit them all and made them realise that they needed to enjoy the time they had together more than they had been.

"I suppose," Dawn said grumpily, not willing to admit anything.

"I doubt we'll be having a lot of fun," Xander went on, hoping to make her feel better, "as I'll be introducing Piper and Phoebe to a sister they never even knew they had, as well as trying to convince her that she's a witch that will be hunted by every demon under the moon until she's dead or joined with the other's to reinstate the Power of Three."

"What time is mom getting here tomorrow?" Dawn asked, suddenly not as upset about being unable to go with them as she had a few moments ago.

"Sometime in the afternoon," he replied, noticing her change in demeanour and holding back a smile. "Why don't you go ring her, I'm sure that she's wondering what you've been doing. You can also warn them that Leo will be appearing in the lobby sometime tomorrow to collect her, that way Faith won't try to turn him into a spit roast Whitelighter."

"Sure."

Dawn decided to use the phone in their bedroom to have a little privacy, which meant that Buffy and Xander had some time to themselves.

"I'm going to need your help convincing Paige about what goes bump in the night," Xander told Buffy as he sat down and pulled her onto his lap, "I was thinking that after she's been introduced to her sisters that we take her on patrol."

"Don't you think that it'll be a bit sudden?" she asked as she wrapped her hands around his neck and settled down against him.

"Normally I would agree," he admitted, "but the circumstances won't allow it. I wasn't joking about demons going after her; the moment she meets her sisters the powers she's possessed since birth will be released, and she'll be like a beacon in the dark. She'll be even more of a demon magnet than I pretended to be, but without control of her powers she won't have much chance of surviving an attack."

"What if it backfires on you?"

"If it does it does, but it's a risk I'm willing, and have to, take," he told her, knowing how easily things could go wrong. "I would be leaving her in too much danger if I did it any other way."

"Don't think I'm criticising," Buffy began tentatively, "it's just that we both know what it's like to find out about all this stuff. I know that you don't have a lot of choice in how to do this, and I'm going to be here for you no matter what."

"Have I told you how much I love you?" he asked her softly as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

Buffy pulled away ever so slightly so she could look him in the eyes. "Not recently," she lied. "I love you too by the way."

"I know, I mean who wouldn't?" he said with a waggle of his eyebrows.

"You're right," she agreed, "I'm sure I've seen Giles give you the occasional appreciative look"

"Scary visual place! Scary visual place!"

Her laughter did nothing to remove the disturbing images his imagination had decided to conjure up from her comment, but the way she was pressing herself against him definitely was.

"I'm suddenly feeling very tired," she said huskily against his neck, "what do you say to an early night?"

Xander swallowed thickly, thinking that tonight would be the night they would finally consummate their relationship. "What about Dawn?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly.

"What about her?" she replied with a sigh. "Everybody knows how we feel about each other, and I really don't want to hide the fact from my sister or anyone else. It's not as though we have anything to be ashamed of."

"You know I like the way you think," he told her with a smile, realising that there was no reason why they couldn't be honest about how they feel, especially when everyone already knew. Any reluctance he had about taking their relationship further flew out the window when he looked in her eyes and saw the level of feeling she had for him. "I've just realise that I'm feeling tired as well, so your suggestion of an early night is extremely tempting."

Xander stood up, easily picking Buffy up, and began to make his way to his bedroom, when Dawn poked her head out. "Buffy! Mom wants to talk to you!"

Buffy and Xander looked into each other's eyes and after a moment their shoulders slumped in unison, followed by sighs of frustration.

"I have the distinct impression that this is not going to be a short conversation," Buffy said grumpily as Xander put her down but kept hold of her hand.

"If our luck so far is any indication you're right," he sighed. "I'm going to bed, it's going to be a long day tomorrow."

"Goodnight Xander."

Xander brought her hand to his lips and kissed her palm. "Night Buff."

They released their hold of each other's hand and walked to their respective rooms, both thinking that the whole world was against them. The really annoying thing was that both of them knew they were right.


	5. Chapter 4: Taking A Paige Out Of Bridges

_**Chapter Four – Taking A Paige Out Of Bridge's Playbook**_

**Celestial Plane.**

"You're playing a dangerous game, you do realise that?" Metatron asked his companion, who was intent on the viewing pool in front of them showing the sleeping forms of Buffy and Xander.

She turned to him and tilted her head to one side and pursed her lips for a moment before the smile returned, wider this time, and she turned her attention back to the pool.

"They're both questioning what's going on between them," he went on, "and unless you take a more active role in this, you can't stop them from going any further."

Again she said nothing, but she did shrug her shoulders minutely, now too focussed on what was going on to even look in his direction.

"I don't know why I bother sometimes," he sighed, "but I can tell you he will **not** be pleased about your interference, not that he can do much about it, but I do know the way he thinks, and he'll start to question more of the things that have been going on, and if he finds out what you have planned for **her**..."

She did turn to look at him this time, and actually took a step back from her due to the intensity of her gaze. It wasn't a look he received often, for which he was grateful for, and it made him realise just how serious the situation was.

"I know, I know, you work in mysterious ways, but why do they have to be mysterious to **me**?" he asked in carefully modulated frustration, even as he accepted that there were certain thing that only she could ever fully understand.

* * *

**Gena's Expresso Cart, San Francisco.**

As Xander entered the coffee shop, he could easily pick out Paige from the crowd without even seeing her face. Even though it was dormant, for the most part, her power signature shone like a beacon in the darkness, and it only made Xander more resolute in his intent. Without being told of her heritage, Paige was a sitting duck from the demonic community, and it had been a minor miracle that she'd lived as long as she had.

Actually, that was mainly down to several masking spells that had been cast upon her at birth, which had only been broken upon the death of Prue. Xander knew for certain that Paige would have never even reached kindergarten age had she always given off the vibes she did now.

All that was left for Xander to do now was go over to Paige and explain the situation to her, and he hoped that the emotional backlash of what he had to tell her wouldn't bring the building down around him.

"Hello, Miss Matthews?" Xander said as he drew closer, causing the young woman to look up.

"Yes?" she said in reply, "are you Mr Harris from the detective agency?"

"I'm Xander Harris, yes," he told her as he showed her his Identification before he sat down opposite her, ignoring the detective agency part. Xander knew that she would be able to detect any falsehood on his part now that they were in person, even if she didn't know she had the ability, so he decided to be careful with what he said.

It wasn't as though he would be lying, as Xander did own a detective agency, and was listed as one of their investigators, but that was a front to ensure that if he was ever found somewhere he shouldn't be he had something to fall back on.

"It's nice to finally put a face to the voice, although I've spoken more with your associates than with yourself," Paige said with a smile as she shook hands. "I just want to thank you for taking on my case, especially Pro Bono like you have."

"Not a problem," Xander assured her, his sincerity causing her to smile.

It had been rather fortuitous for someone to have recommended his firm to Paige a while ago, and had taken full advantage of the situation. Relying what he wanted them to do, or more specifically **not** do had been tricky, but he'd managed to purloin a Whitelighter for a few days a month or so before the discovery of the prophecy to pose as him, and ensured that they put him down as the person in charge of her case. Had this situation not come about, he would have made sure that she got in touch with the sisters sooner or later, but now had to speed up the process.

"I know that you are eager to get things going," he went on, "so I won't beat around the bush; I have found your biological family."

Paige gasped in shock; she'd had an inkling that her search would soon be over ever since she had first been in contact with the agency that a friend of hers had recommended, but to have that thought confirmed was another thing altogether.

"You have?" she asked, not quite believing her own ears.

"Yes," he replied, "but I have to warn you that the information I have to give you might not be exactly what you were hoping for."

"What do you mean?" she asked in confusion, something Xander couldn't blame her for.

This was one of the things that Xander was not looking forward to explaining, knowing that there was no easy way to broach it and no way to soften the blow. "Your biological mother, Patricia Halliwell, died six months after you were born," he told her softly.

Paige's excitement over finally finding out about her biological family deflated a great deal at that, and after a moment felt angry with herself for not being affected more by the news. She had of course never met the woman, having been given up at birth, but she was the person that had brought her into the world, and Paige thought that she should feel something more about her passing.

"What about my father?" she asked after a few moments to absorb the news. She'd need a hell of a lot longer than that to truly process it, but right now she just wanted to get everything out of the way.

"Your father was a man called Sam Wilder," Xander told her, "and he fell off the grid soon after your mother's death. Form what I have been able to gather, he loved your mother a great deal, and her passing affected him greatly, which subsequently caused him to cut all ties with those that knew him."

That much was true, Sam had been incommunicado since the day Patricia Halliwell had died trying to vanquish the water demon, at least until the three sisters found him last year, but there was no way for a Whitelighter to hide his presence from the Elders even after he fell from grace, although they had uncharacteristically respected his desire to be left alone.

Personally, Xander figured that they didn't want to run the risk of his 'rogue' behaviour being passed on to his fellow Whitelighters had they retrieved him, and had left him to his own devices as a sort of punishment for falling in love with his charge, but that wasn't something that he could prove or bring up right now, especially given recent events.

"So that's it? My mother is dead, and my father is God knows where?" Paige asked him after several moments, her tone angry upon realising that she would never get to meet her biological parents.

When she was younger, and had first been told about her adoption, Paige had referred to Patricia and Sam as her real parents, which had caused her mom to burst into tears and run from the room. Her dad had been angry, but had kept his tongue as he knew that she was reacting to the news, angry because she felt that she was no longer the person she thought she was.

As she got older, Paige realised that her real parents were the ones that had raised her, the ones that had been there for her through the good and bad times, and had always from that point called them her real parents, and spoke of the couple that had given her up as her biological parents. She also called them Mom and Dad, while referring to her biological parents and Mother and Father, to further separate them in her mind.

"No, not entirely," Xander assured her, knowing that the news had to be a terrible blow to her, but also knowing that it wouldn't be the last. He also had to hold back a smile at her last comment, as God did indeed know where Sam was. "Patricia had three daughters before you were born with another man; Prudence, Piper, and Phoebe Halliwell."

"I have sisters," Paige whispered to herself, "I have three sisters."

Again, Xander winced internally, knowing that his next piece of news would be yet another blow to her. "Piper and Phoebe both live here in San Francisco, and I am going to arrange for you to meet them sometime tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?! That soon?!" Paige exclaimed loudly, not expecting that.

Paige had hoped that, once she'd finally tracked down her biological family, that she would have time to assimilate the fact before making herself known to them, maybe observe them for a while from afar to see what type of people they were, so that when the time finally came to make herself known to them, she wouldn't allow her emotions to overly affect her during their reunion.

After a moment, something Xander had said, or rather something he **hadn't** said, struck her. "What about Prudence?" she asked, fearing the answer.

Xander sighed, hating to give her one piece of bad news after another, and decided to just come right out with it. "I'm afraid to tell you that Prue died recently."

"God, really?" Paige exclaimed in shock, thinking that her timing couldn't have been more wrong.

"Believe me, I wouldn't lie about something like that," Xander told her, not taking offence, "especially after everything else I had told you.."

"And you want me to meet the other two sisters tomorrow, so soon after losing her? That's going to go **so** well," she said sarcastically.

"I know that it seems to be a little soon, but there are things that you three need to discuss, and they're of a time sensitive nature," he replied, hoping that she wouldn't ask for more details. "I don't know whether you would feel up to it right now, but I thought that you might like to pay your respects to Patricia and Prue before meeting Phoebe and Piper."

"I don't know..."

"The family mausoleum isn't far," he went on when he saw her begin to waver, hoping to bring her round, "which is why I requested we meet here. I know it seems soon, and that I've dropped several big bombshells on you, but I don't think waiting will make much of a difference."

In reality Xander thought very differently, knowing that right now she would probably not be anywhere near in the right frame of mind to take everything he'd told her in, let alone visit the final resting place of her mother and sister. The big problem Xander had was that he simply could not allow her the time she'd need to assimilate everything, not with the big bullseye she had mystically attached to her, so he had no choice but to persuade her otherwise.

He knew enough that if he pressed her for an answer he'd probably get the reverse of what he wanted, although the glassy look in her eyes told him she probably wouldn't hear him even if he tried, so instead he ordered himself a hot chocolate and a refill for her, and patiently waited for her to come back from wherever her thoughts had taken her.

* * *

Two hot chocolates and three blueberry muffins later, Paige finally turned her attentions back to the man sitting in front of her, who had just turned her world upside down. Unfortunately for her, she had no idea that Xander had only begun with the revelations. If she had any idea of what lay ahead for her, she would probably run and never look back, but she didn't, and was left with only one answer. 

"You're right that it wouldn't make a difference if I waited an hour or a year to do this, I'd still feel the same way," Paige told him. "I have to admit that I'm not feeling much of anything at the moment, having been given a lot of stuff to take in, but I want to see my mother, even if it's her grave."

Xander hid his relief, thankful that things were finally going his way, and simply nodded once in understanding before he stood up and went over to pay the bill.

* * *

**Holy Cross Colma, San Francisco.**

Once Xander had brought Paige to the Halliwell family mausoleum, he decided to retreat to the outside to allow her some privacy, or at least the illusion of it. He did his best to keep himself occupied, calling Daniel and checking he was ready to see Blade tonight, but even with the door closed behind him, Xander was able to easily make out what was going on within, and felt like a right heel when he heard the unmistakable sound of a woman crying in grief.

He felt an affinity with Paige in a way, as they had both been given up by their parents for their own good, but he at least had the genetic memories of his parents to explain away why they had made that decision. Paige had no idea why Patty and Sam had left her at the church, so all she had were doubts and insecurities, wondering whether she had been a disappointment to them, or worse, a mistake.

Xander of course knew otherwise, but there were only two people who could convince her of that and neither one was available, at least not at the moment. Xander thought that having Patty turn up and speak to her daughter from beyond the grave so soon after finding out she was dead would probably be the straw that broke the camel's back.

Sam would be of no help either, but for different reasons. Although that after his 'death' last year he had resumed his duties as a Whitelighter, he was still consumed with guilt over the things he had done, and would probably make things worse rather than better at the moment. The Elders had yet to assign him any charges of his own, and was at the moment doing nothing more than flittering around their realm, feeling sorry for himself.

Another reason he was feeling so depressed was that he was now estranged from Patty, their renewed relationship not lasting more than a month. They had both soon realised that thirty odd years was a long time to be apart, and they weren't the same people anymore. Three decades of self recriminations had made it impossible for Sam to accept Patty's forgiveness, and Patty found it hard to see the man she had loved in the person before her.

Of course, it hadn't helped that Penny, Patty's mother, didn't get along with Sam in the slightest, and the thought of a mother in law that would be around for all eternity would give even the most steadfast man pause, let alone someone who had a long way to go to rebuild the self esteem that they'd lost.

Five minutes of waiting turned to ten, which then turned to twenty, and Xander was beginning to wonder just how long Paige would want to stay, when a scream pierced the air like a knife. For a moment he thought it was Paige, but soon realised that the sound came from the opposite end of the cemetery.

"What was that?" Paige asked as she exited the mausoleum, having also heard the noise, even within the stone walls.

"I don't know," Xander replied, "but I'm going to find out."

Xander went to follow the sound, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"I'm coming with you," she told him, half because she didn't want to be left alone, and half because she wanted to help.

Xander held back a smile, knowing that anyone of Paige's bloodline would feel compelled to help, even if they weren't sure why. "Come on."

The pair moved quickly through the cemetery, Xander pacing himself so that he would leave Paige behind, and was surprised to find that she was able to run faster than he would have expected. Another scream, followed by the unmistakable sound of gunfire, told them which way to travel, and Xander was suddenly glad that he'd decided to break into his spare room for supplies.

He'd realised that the best way to keep his presence as far below the mystical radar as possible was to keep to standardised weaponry as much as possible. Of course, a lot of his family arsenal had been tweaked here and there, making them just as effective on the demon community as they were on humans, so unless he went up against something that required them, he'd shelve his powers until they were required.

Another good thing about no one knowing of his demise was that his documentation was still active, including his P.I. Licence and his carry and concealment permits. He'd contacted a few people to push the paperwork through for similar licences and permits for Buffy and the others in Sunnydale, and for Angel and the others in LA, so that in the event that they found themselves dealing with competent law enforcement, they wouldn't be in trouble for carrying the weapons he would soon be ensuring they all have.

When they reached where the trouble was, Xander ducked down behind a gravestone, pulling Paige down with him. It was a firefight between police and a group of gentlemen wearing high priced suits and high end weaponry.

The suits were well protected by three stretch limousines that were obviously armour plated given the way the bullets had barely even scratched the paintwork, and a large stone statue, whereas the cops were pretty much out in the open with only a yellow Cuda and pick-up truck for cover, and neither one looked like they would take too much more damage.

Xander couldn't just sit and watch, he had to help the cops out who were both out-manned and out-gunned, but he wasn't sure that they'd welcome his assistance if offered. As he took a moment to figure out what to do, his eyes widened as he recognised one of the cops, and suddenly knew that getting them to accept his help wouldn't be a problem, but given who it was that he recognised, Xander did wonder why there was a problem in the first place.

"Alright, Paige, I need you to stay here," he told her firmly.

Xander had been surprised that she'd acquiesced to him thus far, given that they'd only met an hour ago, but was wise enough not to look a gift horse in the mouth and hoped that the trend lasted a little longer.

"What? Why..."

"You**know** why," he said cutting her off, modulating his voice so he didn't sound angry at her, more concerned for her, "and I don't have time to argue the point. You don't want to get hurt or worse now that you're so close to finally meeting your biological family, do you?"

It was a low blow and he knew it, but it had the desired effect and Paige nodded her head in agreement. Before he left, he muttered a few words to erect a protective shield around her in case of a stray bullet or a ricochet, and hoped that she wouldn't move around too much, or he'd have a few questions to answer that he knew she wasn't ready to have answered just yet.

Ducking and diving through the graves, Xander steadily made his way towards the police's position, deliberately not drawing his weapons until he got closer. Once he was within hearing range, or at least human hearing range, he made himself known.

"Hey cuz, need a hand?" he called out with a smile in his voice.

Evan Cortez's head snapped round at the familiar and extraordinarily welcome voice, a smile on his face despite the circumstances. "Always, Alex!" he replied readily, feeling their odds of getting out of this in one piece go up exponentially.

"Evan, who the hell is this guy?" one of the other cops called out as Xander rushed over to their position, although he didn't divert his attention from the mobsters in front of him.

"Alex Harris," Xander said inn way of introduction as he crouched down between the two detectives, realising that it was better than Evan trying to think of a cover story. "Nice to meet you, Lieutenant Bridges, I've heard a lot about you."

"Can't say the same about you, Bubba," Nash said as he stole a glance at him, "but if you haven't already figured it out, this isn't the time for a family reunion, so get the hell out of here!"

"Boss," Evan cut in, "Alex can help, and we need all the help we can get. SWAT won't be here for another few minutes, and they're minutes we do not have."

"Alright, fine," Nash sighed, knowing there wasn't much he could do to stop him right now anyway, "but we're gonna have a long talk when this is over Evan, count on it."

Evan nodded and turned his focus once more on the men firing on them.

So, Evan, what brought you to San Francisco? Xander asked him telepathically, whilst joining in the shooting match.

I could ask the same thing about you, Evan replied, especially as your aura disappeared a few months ago. It's a good thing that The Voice came and explained what had happened, as the clan were a hair's width away from sanctioning the whole damn town, and you know what**that** would have led to.

Believe me, I know, but at least Pompeii wasn't the site of a Hellmouth. As for why I'm back down here, that is a **long** story; lets finish these assholes off first, then we'll catch up. So, Xander went on, do you need these guys dead or alive, and why haven't you already taken care of it either way?

To answer in order, the latter if possible, and that's a long story as well, Evan replied. Can you deal with them without making it look too suspicious?

Xander didn't respond to Evan's question, as he was trying to work that one out. The most expedient option would be to just make their guns disappear or blow up their cars, but it would be difficult to explain why all of their weapons had vanished into thin air, and there would be no way to ensure that there would be survivors if he blew up the cars, which meant he was left with disabling the shooters themselves.

Selecting his targets would be easy, as his sight was good enough to be able to count how many eyelashes each of them had, but the problem came in that the only clear shots he had were kill shots, especially with the heavy calibre rounds he'd be sending their way. Then there was explaining how he had managed to shoot them all, which was probably why Evan hadn't gone that route either.

Doing things the almost normal way wouldn't get them anyone to question, but doing anything overtly abnormal in front of a tenacious cop like Nash Bridges would not be wise either. Luckily, Xander was used to working in that area in-between the two when he had kept his true identity secret from Buffy and the others, so he knew what to do.

Muttering a few words, Xander gave the gunmen the mystical equivalent of a hot foot by causing the ground they were standing on to burst into flame, which was luckily obscured from Bridges and the other detectives by the limousines. Even though it was nothing more than an illusion, it was more than enough to make them break their cover and made them sitting ducks for him and the police.

Xander knew that there would be confusion as to why they had all suddenly broken cover, but with no evidence of any fire the gunmen would swear was there, and with him being right next to the cops when it happened, the weirdness should be connected to him, and the only one who knew the truth wouldn't say anything.

Leaving Evan and the others to deal with them, Xander made his way back over to Paige, who had a whole cavalcade of emotion flittering around her face.

"Are you alright?" Xander asked worriedly, wondering what was wrong, apart from the obvious of course.

"How did you do that?" she asked softly.

"What?" he replied in confusion.

"How did you make the flames happen?"

Xander looked at her in shock, unable to hide his reaction to her question. He of course realised instantly that he had all but admitted that it had been him by reacting that way, but he couldn't help it.

Knowing that lying to her now would ruin any credibility he had, something he desperately needed to maintain for the next earth shattering revelation he had for her, he decided to go a different route. "Why do you think it was me?"

"I could see everything from here, and saw you muttering something just before the flames appeared," Paige explained in a tone that was far calmer than he believed her to be, "and you also muttered something else just before they went away."

"I could have been talking to the detectives," Xander pointed out, deciding to play Devil's Advocate to see just how observant she had been.

"You could have been," she admitted, "but that wouldn't explain why I wasn't able to move from this spot when I tried, and how I was only able to do so after I saw you mutter something under your breath as you approached."

"Damn," Xander swore, "I hoped you wouldn't try and move."

"So it **was** you!" she exclaimed in shock.

"Yeah," he admitted with a sigh, "but it was something I'd hoped to not have to explain right away to you."

"So you were going to tell me then?" she asked, and seemed to calm down at his confession, as though she had been worried she'd been imagining things.

"Of course," he assured her, "I just didn't want to tell you too soon, given that most people would assume I'm loco. I also didn't expect there to be a gun battle in a cemetery, although with the way my luck normally pans out I shouldn't be surprised." Xander then picked up on something; although Paige was shocked about what had happened, she didn't seem to be shocked by what he'd done, only that he'd done it. "You already know about the supernatural, don't you?"

Xander saw a flicker of fear enter her eyes, and wondered what she'd gone through for that to happen. His information on her was spotty at best; he knew that when Patty gave birth to her she gave her up for adoption, after she and Sam cast the masking spells on her to keep both The Source and the Elders from finding her, and that her adoptive parents died in a car crash, but he didn't know much more than that.

Her life was a mystery to most, which was how Sam and Patty had wanted it, and if it hadn't been found out when Sam had inadvertently slipped and mentioned her when he and Patty were getting reacquainted, no one would have even known she'd even existed until Prue's death, and then it would have been too late.

Paige looked at him in fear, because the last person she had seen do anything like what Xander had done, was not the most trustworthy person on the planet, if he were a person at all. Looking at Xander, however, she didn't get any of the duplicitous feelings that came from the other man. In point of fact, she had felt more comfortable around him than anyone, apart from her parents.

She didn't know whether that was a natural quality of his, or something he had cultivated over the years, but given the way he had helped those police officers when many would have stayed well out of it, she didn't think that it made much of a difference either way.

"After my parents died," she began, "I was sent to live with an aunt for a while in Trinity, South Carolina..."

"Ah, yes, which means that you met the infamous Sheriff Lucas Buck," Xander said with distaste.

"You know about him?" she asked in shock.

"Unfortunately," Xander replied. "So, how did you escape from his... tender mercies?"

"I got accepted into Berkley, and left without telling anyone," she replied with a shudder as she recollected that time in her life.

The Sheriff had started to take an unhealthy interest in her during the short time she was in Trinity, although she seemed to be the only one to notice. She had actually begun to believe that what she had seen that night two weeks before she left was simply her imagination, and that Sheriff Buck hadn't been as bad as she had believed, until Xander.

"I contacted my aunt a few days later," Paige went on, "just to make sure she didn't overly worry herself, and never looked back."

"I don't blame you, as Lucas is an oily son of a bitch, but relatively harmless in the grand scheme of things," Xander told her, not wanting her to think he'd judge her for running away.

Discretion was the better part of valour after all, and if she hadn't left when she did, Xander doubted that they would have been able to regain the Power of Three, as Lucas would have turned her to his way of thinking. At the end of the day, there were more bad guys than good guys, so they had to pick and choose their battles more then the other side, so if retreating is an option, Xander would suggest to everyone that they take it.

"What do you mean by that?" Paige asked, finding it difficult to describe Sheriff Buck as harmless.

"Lucas has delusions of grandeur, but on a relatively small scale," Xander explained. "He enjoys being the Sheriff of Trinity, and has taken great pains to remain so, but he is otherwise uninterested in the rest of the world, mainly because his parlour tricks wouldn't work as well on a larger scale."

"Why do you know so much?" Paige asked, not suspiciously but out of genuine curiosity.

"That's something else I'll explain to you later," Xander replied as he flicked his eyes over to Lieutenant Bridges, "but I'm going to have to go with the police."

"Why?"

"Because no good deed goes unpunished," he replied with a grin, and received a frosty look from Nash for it.

"That's not the best way to get on my god side, Bubba. Who's this?"

"Miss Matthews, my client," Xander informed him, his tone becoming more formal with the Lieutenant. "I was helping her track her biological family, and I'm afraid to say it led us here." he turned back to Paige and smiled at her reassuringly. "I shouldn't be too long, so why don't you go home and I'll call you when I'm done, alright?"

"Hey now, Bubba, I haven't said she can go anywhere."

Xander turned his attention once again to Nash, and the look on his face suddenly made Bridges feel like he was seven years old and his dad caught him doing something he really shouldn't. "You're not really going to keep her here, are you?"

The two men stared at each other. And Paige resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the show of testosterone. Bridges was surprised when he was the first to break eye contact. "No, but I will need your contact details in case a follow up is required."

"Not a problem," Paige told him, reciting her address to Nash. "I'll see you later, Xander."

"Count on it," he assured her as he followed Nash to his bullet ridden car.

* * *

**SIU Headquarters, San Francisco.**

As Xander looked out on the water from the boat they'd turned into SIU HQ, he mused that his stay with the police so far hadn't been as bad as he had feared.

Nash Bridge's reputation for wanting to know everything about a person once they were in his field of vision was well deserved, and Xander was sure that, if he hadn't had all of his papers with him and Evan's support, he'd have found himself being an overnight guest while Nash prodded and poked to find out everything there was to know about him.

Xander hadn't been worried about them poking around in his affairs, as he knew there was nothing to be found, but being held overnight would have put his plans back a day or two, and pissed him off somewhat. He knew that the police had a job to do, and he knew that Nash and his team did their job well, but if they'd held him after helping them out he would not have been happy.

Of course, the worst thing he would have done to them was sic his lawyers on them and wrap them up in so much red tap they'd drown in it, which while extremely annoying, wasn't dangerous. Xander would have been more concerned for Bridges and the rest of SIU once Buffy found out, as he wasn't sure what the department would do if they suddenly had half their staff in ICU.

The team that Nash had around him was good, great even, but what really made the difference was that they all got on and were actually friends as well as colleagues. Whilst that would sometimes be a problem, as they would find it difficult to remain professional if one of them got hurt, or worse, during an investigation, the upshot of their closeness was that they all knew how each other would react in a given situation, making them a distinct advantage over the criminals they went up against.

It was the way Xander would need everyone he was bringing together to work to ensure they had even the **slightest** chance against the evil they would soon be facing. He had the tactical knowledge and experience necessary, but the problem it was all second hand; he had never had to use that knowledge himself, and with the people he had been dealing with, a blonde Slayer in particular, it would have been next to useless anyway.

He knew realistically that turning them all into a well oiled machine wouldn't happen, because the groups he was planning to bring together were too secular, too independent, to effectively work together the way he wanted, but that didn't mean he wouldn't give it his all to prove himself otherwise.

Luckily, he had people who could help, one of which was Daniel, although he might not be so cooperative after dealing with Blade and Whislter for a few days. While he felt a little guilty about giving Daniel Blade as his first 'assignment', he knew that Daniel was better suited to dealing with the half-vampire's personality. Xander was not one to be able to turn the other cheek, and knew that Blade's attitude would rub him the wrong way, and cause persuading the hunter to help all the more difficult.

Xander knew that he would need to meet with Blade eventually, especially as he needed to speak with him concerning his growing resistance to that serum he forced himself to take, but hoped that the roadwork Daniel would have put in by that point would be enough.

"Hey, Alex, what's with the frown?" Evan asked as he walked up beside Xander and leant back against the railing.

"Not much, Evan, just thinking about the end of the world," he replied lightly, but Evan could see the tension in Xander's body, and knew that he wasn't joking.

"Anything I can do to help?" he asked immediately, family solidarity coming to the fore, coupled with his innate desire to help people.

"I'm not sure about you personally, as you still haven't explained why you didn't deal with those idiots that were shooting at you, but I think that I need to call a clan meeting, a **full** clan meeting."

That made Evan pause, as there hadn't been a full clan meeting in a very long time. The Gnil'sog clan were the smallest of the clans as far as purebloods were concerned, but there were a lot more 'fractions' around that swelled their numbers a great deal, and the logistics of getting everyone together in the same place at the same time made it impractical to try unless there was a damn good reason, and Evan had a feeling that Xander's reason would definitely qualify.

"As far as the first thing is concerned, Mom and Pop didn't see the funny side of a prank I pulled on them, and decided to show it by binding my powers on a temporary basis," he explained. "My physical abilities are unaffected, but I can't pull a trick like you did earlier for a few more months."

"What did you do to deserve that?" Xander asked curiously, the punishment sounding quite severe for a prank.

For Savox demons losing their ability to cast magic was like losing a limb, as their magical ability was part of who they were, unlike practitioners such as Willow for example. For his parents to band together and restrict his use of magic, and moreover for Evan to actually **let** them, meant that it was no mere prank.

"You don't want to know," Evan said in embarrassment, hindsight making him realise that the punishment did indeed fit the crime, and even now wondered what in the world he had been thinking.

"Oh I do," Xander told him with a grin, "but I won't press for an answer. So, do you think you could get the word out?"

"Sure, but, and don't take this the wrong way, I'm not sure that you can call a meeting anymore."

"What, because I died?" Xander asked with a snort, laughing a little when Evan nodded his head. "We both know it wouldn't be the first time that a meeting had been called from someone beyond the grave, and I'm a whole lot more solid than they were. Anyway, given the circumstances of my death, and subsequent repercussions from what happened, they're going to want to at least know why I'm down here, and recognising one of the Powers as their Clan Chieftain would certainly be an advantage with the other clans."

"You do have a point," Evan agreed with a sigh, "it's just that I'm not sure you're going to get the reception that you might want."

"If I wasn't prepared for what might happen, I wouldn't have said anything at all," he assured his cousin, knowing what he meant.

On the whole, their clan were on the light side of the spectrum, but they were still a shade of grey as opposed to white. Evan knew that most of their clan had no problem with what had happened to Xander after his death, as it made a lot of them, himself included, have hope that they might join him one day, but there were a few that weren't quite so enamoured with him, and would be quite vocal in their opinion. The bright side was that they would be in the minority, and would probably be the ones that the rest of the clan took little to no notice of anyway.

Silence loomed between the two cousins for a few moments before Xander spoke again. "So, can I go now, or will your boss be wanting to speak with me again?" he asked.

"Both actually; I know that Nash will want to have another chat with you, but it will be purely unofficial, as he's not as blind as most people."

"He know who you really are, doesn't he?" Xander asked with a groan, already knowing the answer.

"He knows I'm not 'just' Evan Cortez," he admitted, smiling slightly as he remembered how his boss found out, "but not that I'm a demon."

"And how did you allow that to happen?" Xander asked.

"He witnessed me taking a full clip of hollow points at point blank range, and noticed that not only was I still alive, there was a distinct lack of blood," Evan explained sheepishly. "It was my own dumb fault; I'd just chased down this crack head who'd been making a play to take over the local territory, and didn't figure on Nash catching up to us so fast. I gave Nash an abridged version of who I am, basically making myself sound like a cross between a male Slayer and an Immortal, and he understands why it needs to stay on the down low."

"Thank Heavens for small mercies," Xander said in relief, knowing that having what Evan can do become public knowledge would do to the current state of play, not to mention ruin his and his family's life, "but I hope you didn't mention the word Slayer in your explanation, as I have one of them with me at the moment."

"Which one, the blonde or the brunette?" Evan asked with a smirk and a glint in his eye, knowing that there was one constant when it came to Slayers; they were all stone cold fox's.

"The blonde, Buffy," Xander told him, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You try anything with her, and I'll make sure that when she kicks your ass you'll feel it."

"Hey," Evan said with a smile as he backed up a step, his hands up in supplication, "I'll be on my best behaviour."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Xander told him with a smirk, remembering how his cousin had behaved when he met him on his road trip. "Look," he went on as he glanced at his watch, "I've got to make a move, as I know Buffy will be wondering where the hell I am."

"Alright, Xander, you take care of yourself," Evan told him as they shook hands, "and I'll get in contact with my folks and get the ball rolling on arranging the meeting."

"Thanks Evan, it's appreciated. Hey, I'll be at a club called P3 tonight, why don't you and Nash come along?" Xander suggested, wanting to ensure he sated the Lieutenant's curiosity before he left. "I'll be able to sate Nash's curiosity and explain to you a little more about why I'm here."

"Sounds good," Evan agreed with a nod, "I'll get Nash alone and let him know."

"See you later cuz," Xander called out as he made his way to the exit, flipping his cell phone out to call a cab.

* * *

**P3, San Francisco.**

Xander watched Piper and Phoebe dance with their beaus, Leo and Cole, with a small smile on his face. He knew that the death of their sister still overshadowed them, but could tell that the worst of their grief was over. It would never truly go away, but it would begin to be more bearable in the weeks and months to come, and no longer the first thing on their minds in the morning and the last thing on their minds at night.

A lot of that was down to Leo and Cole, who had been supportive throughout the ordeal, allowing them to see that there were people there for them. They were lucky to have them, as both Leo and Cole had their own unique perspectives on the situation that allowed them to be for more empathetic to their needs than most.

Cole was someone who Xander had thought a great deal on recently, wondering whether there was anything he could, or should, do to help him. While it wasn't at the same intensity, he was still hunted by demons that wanted to collect the bounty on his head put on him by The Source, which sometimes put a crimp in his social life with Phoebe, as well as causing them problems when they came to collect whilst he was in the Manor.

Luckily for him, Cole was still one of the best out there, and his ability to kill whatever demon came after him, coupled with his assisting the sisters in defending themselves, meant that the demons under The Source's purview were beginning to dwindle. That was both a good and bad thing for them, as while it meant that there would soon be less attacks against him and the sisters, it also meant that The Source could decide to step things up and go all out against them, especially as they were currently without the Power of Three.

Xander's problem came with just what he could do to help him; the obvious choice would be to do for Cole what he'd done for Angel, but it wasn't as simple as that. Firstly, Angel's soul had been forcibly replaced into his body, in effect possessing his already demonicly possessed corpse, whereas Cole had been born half demon, meaning he was as much a demon as he was a human.

Then there was that fact that Angel hadn't actually ever been evil; he'd been stupid, definitely, the main example was allowing Darla to turn him, but never evil. Despite the fact that he'd the disadvantage of being born with a demon and trained almost from birth to relish in that side of him, Cole had, until recently, been a willing participant in the evil deeds he had committed.

Xander had to concede the point that Cole had shown that he wanted to change his ways, but Xander wasn't certain that he was doing so for the right reasons. The intent behind a person's actions was as important as the actions themselves, and Xander wasn't sure whether Cole's change of heart was because he had finally seen the error of his ways, or because he knew Phoebe would leave him if he didn't. He hoped that it was the former, because of it was the latter their relationship was doomed to fail, and the fallout would be as bad as when Angelus regained control.

Xander was half inclined to do it anyway and hope for the best, but knew that until he was satisfied that Cole's intentions were noble, his best bet was to sit back and watch. He wouldn't be able to watch for long, given what they would all soon be facing, but he hoped that he wouldn't need to.

Xander had to admit that he had a good feeling about him, which had only been increased when some of his fellow Powers had shown their distaste for the man, but the stakes were too high for him to act on a hunch.

On a lighter not, his thoughts turned back to Paige, who had sounded genuinely concerned for him when he'd called her earlier. He'd managed to convince her that he'd had no problems with Nash, and had gone on to assure her that she would not receive any follow up calls about what she may or may not have witnessed, explaining that Nash had just been trying to save face over backing down to him.

They'd talked for almost an hour, and the best thing to come out of it was that Paige had agreed to meet with her sisters tomorrow, and because he knew he'd pretty much press ganged her into it, allowed allowed her to name the time and place, which made her feel a little more comfortable about the whole thing. He'd also promised to meet with her beforehand for moral support, although he'd assured her that she wouldn't need it.

One thing he had been able to deal with tonight was Nash Bridges, who had come along with his cousin Evan to find out what he was doing in 'his' city. If he knew that the closest that could come to making that claim was Julian Luna, he'd probably have a coronary. The more like scenario would be that he would begin to look into Luna's business, resulting in signing his own death warrant.

The Kindred would be yet another problem to overcome, although Xander hoped that they would remain neutral in the upcoming conflict. It would be the best that Xander could hope for, as they would definitely not ally themselves with him if made to pick a side. The odds were stacked against him as it was to lead the others to victory, the last thing he needed was to deal with an army of Gangrels.

Anyway, when Nash had started becoming pushy about what he was in San Francisco for, Xander had kept with the explanation he'd given at the station; he was a private investigator working for Paige to locate her biological family. He went on to explain that he was going to meet with her half sisters in the club to set up a meeting between them and his client tomorrow.

It was only when Nash had to leave to meet with his daughter and ex-wife to celebrate her recent exam results that Xander had explained to Evan the other reason he was here, and why it was so important to have a clan meeting. It didn't take long to convince Evan, who had gone on to pledge his support when the time came, and assured Xander that he would speak with his folks and make arrangements.

Evan stayed around for a little while longer, allowing the pair to catch up a little, before he too had make tracks, his flavour of the month waiting for him at her apartment. That was half an hour ago, and since then he'd enjoyed being able to just kick back and relax.

A flash of something caught his eyes, and when Xander turned to the source he almost swallowed his own tongue. He watched utterly spellbound as Buffy descended the stairs into the club, a crushed velvet dress hugging her every curve and showing just enough cleavage to make him thankful he was sitting down. The high slit in her dress that showed she was wearing stockings, and her high heeled shoes helped to accentuate her legs, and with her hair loose around her shoulders, Xander had never seen her, or any woman in his opinion, look so good.

Buffy didn't walk over to him, she **glided**, the crowd parting for her like the Red Sea, and Xander found himself eternally thankful that he had managed to get his initial reaction to her under control when, instead of taking one of the spare seats at the table, she decided that his lap was the most comfortable place to sit.

"Xander," she said softly, her lips almost brushing his ear, "you're drooling."

Xander's hand immediately went up to his mouth, and Buffy's melodious laughter told him that he'd been played like a violin. Right at that moment he didn't care one iota. "You look spectacular," he told her with reverence, his hands moving to to surround her, almost protectively, "I **so** want to break the First Commandment right now."

"Behave," Buffy admonished gently, "we're in public. When we get back to the hotel, however, that's a whole different ballgame."

"How's Dawn?" he asked before he began to place little kisses along the line of her jaw, deliberately keeping away from her lips.

They had yet to have a proper kiss since their relationship changed, and while he wanted that to change, for some reason he didn't feel like it was the right time. He hoped that the right time would soon be coming, as he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out.

It took a few moments for the question to register in Buffy's mind enough to formulate an answer; Xander's ministrations had caused her higher brain functions to slow down to a crawl, and had been in no rush to process his question. She, like Xander, wanted to get their first kiss over with, but also like Xander felt that the time wasn't now. That didn't mean that they could kiss each other elsewhere, and was definitely glad for that with the sensations Xander was currently instilling within her.

"She's fine; she was still a little upset that she couldn't come with us, but I think that the strings you pulled to get them into her favourite musical softened the blow."

"Hey, Grease is the word, didn't you know," Xander said with a small smile. "I'm sure she and Joyce will have a great time, and doing something normal will certainly make a change for her."

"Have you worked out where Mom will be staying tonight?" Buffy asked after a moment, knowing that Xander wouldn't ask Leo to take her back tonight.

"I thought she'd stay with us in the suite," Xander told her, "there's plenty of room."

"Three of us won't fit in that bedroom Xander," Buffy pointed out, smiling slightly as she'd already figured out where this was going.

"Well," he drawled, "I thought that she and Dawn could be in that room, and you could share with me."

"Did you now? And what makes you think I want to share a bed with you?" she asked him.

"You love me?" he replied, fluttering his eyelashes.

Buffy snuggled into him, moving on his lap in such a way that she was soon rewarded with a sure sign that she was getting to him, her eyes widening slightly as she realised that when they finally took that next step she'd be more than satisfied. "You're right, I do," she purred.

"Buffy," Xander said in a strangled whisper, "you're killing me here."

"I haven't even started," she assured him, although it didn't make Xander, or his resolve, feel reassured in the slightest.

"And you were telling me to behave," he muttered, knowing full well that she would hear every word. "They're coming over, so try to curb yourself. Oh, and Buffy?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you too," he whispered in her ear, causing her to smile widely. He then turned his attention to the quartet who took their places around the table. "Hey guys, if you haven't already figured it out this is Buffy. Buffy, you've already met Leo, but I'd like to introduce you to his wife, Piper Halliwell, her sister Phoebe Halliwell, and Phoebe's fiancé Cole Turner."

"Hi everyone," Buffy said in greeting, giving them all a little wave. "Um, I don't mean to be rude, but is there something about Cole that I need to know?" she asked the group, having worked out what had caused her Slayer Sense to go off.

"Oh yeah, my bad," Xander replied apologetically, although Buffy was probably the only one who could tell he wasn't, "Cole's half demon, and is also known as Belthazor."

"How could she tell?" Phoebe asked immediately.

"I could tell because I'm the Slayer," Buffy told her, her tone indicating that she didn't like to be talked about as though she wasn't there. "It's all part of the package. I have to say that you're a little confusing," she said to Cole, who seemed completely unphased by the whole thing, "as one minute I can sense you and the next minute I can't."

"I don't know what to tell you there," Cole admitted with a shrug, his demeanour showing that he wasn't all that bothered, "I don't normally spend too much time around Slayers to discuss things like that."

Xander bit back a retort about what Cole **had** been doing with the Slayers, knowing that it wouldn't be fair to do so if he were genuinely trying to change his ways. Xander was a firm believer in the saying 'whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger', which was one of the reason he hadn't helped more in Sunnydale over the years.

If he'd wanted he could have systematically driven the vampires out of Sunnydale, but that would have meant that Buffy would have become complacent, so that when someone turned up with the intention of killing her, or to open the Hellmouth, she wouldn't have been able to do anything about it.

Saying that, there was a difference between allowing someone to fight their own battles and kicking them when they're down. Cole at the moment was having to come to terms with the fact that he had committed some atrocities during his life, and now that his human side had started to have more influence over him, his conscience would soon come into play and almost a century's worth of guilt will hit him all in one lump. Because of that, the last thing he needed right now was to reminded of them.

As for the reason why Buffy had problems sensing Cole properly, Xander knew that was to do with the two halves of Cole vying for dominance within him. It gave hope Xander that Cole was being truthful in his desire to turn away from his evil past, because if this was all a ploy, or if he wasn't committed to it, Buffy would not have felt such a drastic change in her ability to sense him.

Given that he had been revelling in his dark half for most if not all of his life, Cole must be fighting his demonic impulses almost constantly, especially being so close to two thirds of the Charmed Ones and a Whitelighter.

The pressure he was under must be intense, and if Cole wasn't careful the pressure will become too much and he'll explode, both metaphorically and maybe even literally. Even under the best of circumstances that would be a very bad thing, but if it happened now, when Phoebe was still in a fragile state, it might be the catalyst for a tragedy that the side of light would take a very long time to recover from. It was just another thing that Xander had to keep an eye on, and one more obstacle to overcome.

"While I'm sure that the discussion resulting from that would be delightful," Piper said, her tone indicating that she thought the exact opposite, "I think that Xander should get to the point and tell us what he wanted to yesterday."

Xander couldn't help but smile at Piper's no nonsense approach, reminding him a little of Cordelia, although without the insults attached. Of course, she made up for that yesterday by the number of times she tried to blow him up, but he still thought that being able to give a good verbal insult was a far more difficult skill to attain than inflicting physical violence. Luckily, he was quite adept at both.

"Okay, I'll get right to it; I know you're aware of the relationship that your mother had with her Whitelighter, something of a family trait it would seem," Xander began, eliciting smiles from Piper and Leo, "but what you **don't** know is that their relationship produced a baby, which they gave up at birth for her own protection."

"**What**!" the sisters yelled, causing some of the crowd to turn and see what the commotion was about.

"Why did they give her up?" Cole asked, having already figured it out, but knowing that the question would calm the sisters down long enough to hear the answer.

"It would have been too dangerous for them to keep her; the child of a witch and a Whitelighter would have the abilities of both, and have a major target on her back from both sides of the fight," Xander replied. "The demons would want to kill a potential threat to them, and some of the good guys would have been worried by what a witch/Whitelighter hybrid would be capable of."

"Xander is right," Leo continued, "it was for that reason that it was forbidden for a Whitelighter to have a romantic relationship with their charges. Obviously, they no longer have that opinion," he went on, giving Piper's hand an affectionate squeeze, "but there are still a few Elders that are of the opinion that such a child would be an abomination, and should be put down for their own sake. It's an opinion some still had when your sister's existence was finally made known, but luckily She thought otherwise and made it quite clear what the repercussion would be if something were to happen to her because of the actions of an Elder."

"How come nobody knew about her until recently?" Phoebe asked. "I mean, I remember you telling me once, Leo, that the Elders know where each and every Whitelighter is at any one time, so why couldn't they have been able to sense her as well?"

"Normally you would be right," Leo replied, "but your mother and Sam knew that as well, so they cast masking spells on her to ensure that nobody would be able to find her through mystical means."

"So what changed?" Piper asked. "Something must have for you two to know about her, and don't think we're not going to have words about you keeping this from me buster," she added as she turned to her husband, her squeeze of his hand far stronger than his had been.

"You shouldn't be too hard on him Piper," Xander told her, hoping to smooth things over between the couple, "he hasn't known about her that long either, and wasn't sure how you'd take the news so soon after Prue's death."

Both sisters nodded at that, realising the predicament Leo had been in, and knew that he would have told them eventually, but would have waited a little longer for them to get over the grieving process before doing so.

They were also a little thankful to Xander for talking about Prue's death I such a matter of fact way, as they both knew that the best way to deal with it was to face it, not pretend it never happened.

While they weren't doing that, neither Leo nor Cole would actually say the words when talking about Prue, always either changing the subject or glossing over that part, and neither Piper nor Phoebe made much effort to correct them, and were even guilty of it themselves at times.

"Fine," Piper sighed, "I won't remove something he'd sorely miss, but you still haven't explained what changed."

"Sam and your mother had to tie the masking spell to another family member," Xander began, "and as it couldn't be a parent, they decided to choose Prue. When she died, the spells died with her, and your sister's presence became known to both sides. She's been lucky so far, as we've managed to prevent several attempts on her life without her even knowing, but it will only be a matter of time before someone slips through the cracks, and given that she is completely untrained, will not stand a chance against them. That's where you two come in."

"I think I speak for both of us when I say that we'd be more than happy to help her, she is our sister after all," Phoebe told him, Piper nodding in agreement, "but I don't know if you've noticed, but we're not exactly the safest people to be around at the moment."

"That's because the Power of Three has gone, but it doesn't have to remain that way."

"What do you mean by... she can complete the Power of Three, can't she?" Piper said. "When Prue died, she became a Charmed One."

"That's right," he replied, "although it's more along the lines that she can **become** a Charmed One. This will only work if you do this willingly, and actually want to do it. Doing it because you feel there's no other option isn't enough; you two will have to accept Paige, that's her name by the way, into your family. Do you think you two can do that?"

"As Phoebe said, we want to help her however we can; she's family," Piper said simply, although the catch in her voice told the others she wasn't as calm and collected as she was making out. "Family has always been important to us, even if we haven't always shown it," she added ruefully, remembering many times when she and one of her sisters would argue over something or other, "so why wouldn't we want to help our sister?"

"Excellent," Xander said with a smile, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief. "So, how would tomorrow suit you?"

"Tomorrow?!" both sisters exclaimed, causing people to look over at them again.

"Paige is here in San Francisco," Leo explained to them, "and has actually lived here most of her life."

"Our sister has lived in the same city as us all her life and we never knew," Phoebe mumbled, thinking of all the wasted years.

"That was the way it had to be; there was no way that Paige would have been safe any other way," Xander told her, honestly believing it.

Had the circumstances been different, like if Patty hadn't died six months after Paige's birth, then there may well have been a chance for the four sisters to have been together, but Xander knew better than anyone that you couldn't dwell on 'what if?'s especially when the outcome was in no way a sure thing.

"Does she know about us?" Piper asked.

"Yes, I saw her earlier today in fact. I thought it would be wise to give her a little background information before you met, especially given the circumstances, and she's ready to meet you," Xander explained.

"How much does she know?" Phoebe asked.

"She knows everything there is to know without going into the whole 'your mother was a witch and your father was an angel' thing," he replied, garnering chuckled from the group. "She does know about the supernatural, and knows I can do magic, but has no idea about anything else."

"How does she know you can do magic?" Buffy asked, joining the conversation now it was about something she cared about.

It wasn't that Buffy was unsympathetic to what they were going through, but Piper had made a very bad first impression with her for trying to kill the man she loved and, right or wrong, had tarred Phoebe with the same brush. Time would tell whether her opinion would change, but it wouldn't be tonight.

That wasn't the only reason she hadn't spoken up before now; she had long gotten over her need to include herself in conversation even when she had nothing to say, and had been content to just sit on Xander's lap. Now that they were about to hear about Xander's day, she was suddenly more interested.

"There was a spot of trouble at the cemetery," he told them, downplaying what happened, "and I erected a protective shield around her while I helped out."

"Why were you at a cemetery, that's normally something you leave until after dark," Buffy pointed out, so used to cemeteries being nothing more than patrol areas that she often forgot that they were there for other uses.

"You took her to the mausoleum, didn't you?" Piper replied before Xander could, her tone almost accusing.

"I'd just told her that the mother she had spent years searching for had actually been dead for most of her life, and that while she did have three half sisters she never knew about, one of them recently died. I thought it only fair that she pay her respects to those she would never see before meeting the ones that she could," Xander said in defence of his actions.

"Which cemetery was that?" Buffy asked suddenly, her expression thoughtful.

"Holy Cross Colma," Phoebe told her when it was apparent that Xander wouldn't, "why do you ask?"

"Because that was where the gunfight between the San Francisco Police and the Russian Mafia took place today," Buffy told them, her eyes narrowing as she turned her attention once again to Xander.

"How could you put our sister in danger like that?" Piper snapped.

"Hey, we were there first," Xander protested defensively, "and how was I supposed to know there'd be a modern day OK Corral going on."

"You maybe right, but you didn't have to help out," Piper growled, the thought of losing yet another sister so soon after Prue making her less than rational.

"You're not the only one with family you know," Xander pointed out, doing his best not to lose his temper. He knew that Piper was overreacting because of Prue, and was doing his best not to retaliate, but he'd never liked backing down from an argument, especially when he was in the unusual position of being right. "One of the cops being fired upon was my cousin, and just as you would go to assist your family, I'd go to assist mine."

"You're right," Phoebe told him, nudging her sister under the table, "and from what Leo would tell us about you, you wouldn't have deliberately put her in any danger. It's just a lot to take in, you know? Being told that you have another sister in one breath, and then being told she was in the middle of a gun battle in another."

"I understand, really. Anyway, getting back on topic," Xander went on, "I'd already spoke with Paige about this, and she decided that the best place to meet you was at a little sandwich bar a short distance from her workplace at lunch."

"My time is my own, one of the perks of being the boss," Piper said, her tone indicating that she didn't have any problem with that arrangement, "what about you Phoebe?"

"My column is written up, so there's no real need for me to be in work tomorrow," Phoebe replied, although her boss had started to comment about how much time she was having off, "but if push comes to shove I can always tell my boss what's happening and use it for next week."

"Excellent," Xander stated with a smile, slipping Leo a piece of paper, "that's the address, her lunch starts at one, so shall we say quarter past?" he suggested, receiving nods of agreement from the sisters. "Righty then, I think it's time we show those people out on the dance floor what we can do Buff."

"No offence Xander," Buffy began, "but I've seen you dance; they'll think you're having a seizure."

"Buffy, Buffy, Buffy, that was all part of my act," Xander told her as he lifted her up and set her down at his side. "I guarantee you that I won't embarrass you out there."

"I'd never feel embarrassed to be with you, no matter where we are," Buffy assured him as he stood up and took her hand before leading her to the dance floor.

* * *

**AK Subs, San Francisco.**

Xander watched as Paige tried not to show how nervous she was, although she was moving around so much he wondered whether she'd had itching powder shoved down her pants. He'd already been in the deli when she turned up like a whirlwind, only her status as a regular there stopping the staff from commenting too much.

He'd explained how Piper and Phoebe were looking forward to meeting her, and were already feeling protective of her, telling her how Piper had reamed him out over what happened at the cemetery. That of course led neatly onto explaining how they too were aware of the supernatural and knew all about him, so she wouldn't have to be careful what she said.

Paige seemed to be relieved about that, hearing that her sisters were 'in the know' giving her extra credence that she wasn't insane. Xander was sure that, despite the fact she had seen what he'd done with her own two eyes, there was a part of her that wanted to chalk it up to an active imagination, and to be honest Xander couldn't blame her for that. He'd seen and done thing that he'd like to have been able to write off as hallucinations, so he wouldn't begrudge anyone else from thinking the same.

He knew that the would arrive any moment, for which Paige's nerves would be eternally grateful, and he hoped that they would be by themselves. He'd asked for them not to bring Leo or Cole with them, as he hadn't wanted Paige to feel surrounded, as the meeting would be difficult enough, on all three of them. The last thing any of them needed would be extra stress on an already stressful encounter.

He would be acting as liaison between them, making the initial introductions and so on, but would also make himself scarce once he was happy they would be alright. He had a few things to do, meeting up with the three Summers women being one of them, and knew that this would be the best opportunity to do them.

"Paige, you need to calm down," Xander told her, knowing that it would fall on deaf ears.

"How**can** I calm down," Paige replied, "I'm about to meet my sisters for the first time. That is **not** conductive to keeping me calm."

"Everything's going to be fine and you know it," he said with a smile, trying to project as much reassurance as he could. "They want to meet you, are looking forward to it in fact, so there's **nothing** to be worried about."

"What if I don't meet their expectations?" Paige asked worriedly, and Xander realised what her true fear was; that after they finally met her, they wouldn't want to see her again.

Fear of rejection is a very hard thing to fight, and many people would rather live alone than to be rejected. This was worse for Paige in a way, she Piper and Phoebe were the only living family she had left, apart from her aunt in Trinity, and from what Xander could make out they hadn't gotten along.

The fear that her sisters wouldn't want anything more to do with her after today wasn't one that Xander could take away, even if he knew they were unfounded; all he could do was help her to face her fears.

That time came less than a minute later, when the ladies in question walked through the door. They spotted him easily and walked over, glancing between him and Paige as they did so. As they reached the table, they suddenly became nervous, which showed that they were nowhere near as confident as they had made out. Xander knew that Paige's fear of rejection was no doubt shared by her sisters.

"Alright ladies," Xander began, knowing that he would need to take the lead on this, otherwise they would be going nowhere fast, "I think that introductions are in order; Paige, I would like you to meet Piper and Phoebe Halliwell. Piper, Phoebe, I would like you to meet Paige Matthews."

The three sisters looked at each other and smiled nervously, and Xander had to indicate for Piper and Phoebe to sit down, otherwise he was sure they would have stood there the entire time.

Xander had decided to take a back seat as much as possible once the introduction were made, giving the three of them time to get to know one another, but beyond polite 'hi's exchanged between them, they all seemed intent on sitting in silence, so he once again took centre stage.

"Alright, this is ridiculous; by all accounts you are all intelligent women, so why doesn't one of you show it and get this ball rolling, huh?"

"Hey!" Phoebe snapped, while the other two just sent him looks that meant the same thing.

Despite that, it was enough to break the ice between them, and they soon began to talk, not about anything too deep, but bout the usual things you talk about when first getting to know someone.

After a couple of minutes it was plain to Xander that they had forgotten he was there, so he went and ordered drinks for them all and basically stayed in the background and allowed the three sisters to become acquainted.

Half an hour later, Xander decided that they were all getting on enough to leave them to their own devices, so he left enough money to cover lunch and, after arranging to meet them at the Manor later that evening, bid them all farewell, happy that his 'mission' was nearing it's completion.

He decided that, as he still had a couple of hours to kill before he was to meet up with Buffy and the others, that he would use the time to track down Oz, so he knew where he was to visit him at a later date. He knew Oz was alive, as Peter would have told him if her weren't, but Xander didn't actually know where he was.

Xander felt guilty about that, as while he had been checking up on the rest of his friends during his time upstairs, he hadn't thought to see what the musician was up to. As he'd told Daniel, tracking Oz wouldn't be a problem, it was just picking up his specific aura that would take a little time.

Had the two been closer, or if Oz were classified as a Champion, it wouldn't take as long, as there would have already been a slight connection between the pair for Xander to use, and he would have just needed to strengthen it to locate him. It would be even easier if he weren't on Earth, as he could simply use one of the celestial viewing pools to locate him, but travelling to Heaven just to do that would not be wise at present, given that there would be no way to mask his signature when doing so.

It took Xander almost an hour to pinpoint Oz's location, although pinpoint would be something of an exaggeration. Oz was currently in Europe, specifically in Romania. He wasn't able to get a better fix on his location due to some heavy duty wards in place throughout that entire region, but the thing that worried Xander was that he could sense Oz was in distress; the nature of the distress was uncertain, but whatever Oz had found himself in he wasn't overly enjoying it.

If he could, he would go to find him straight away, but he couldn't leave until the Power of Three was restored. He hated to admit it, but that was more important than Oz right now, especially as his situation wasn't life threatening, life **changing** certainly, but whatever Oz found himself in was something he would live through. Whether it would be something he'd want to live through was another matter altogether, but Xander hoped that he would be able to stop Oz from finding out.

Xander was brought out of his thoughts when his cell began to ring. He answered it without bothering to see who it was. "Hello?"

"Hey, Alex, it's Evan."

"Hey cuz, what can I do you for?"

"Just calling to let you know that I spoke with my folks, and they'll get everything arranged for you, on the condition that you go and see them when you have the chance. Don't forget, you're their favourite nephew."

"I'm their **only** nephew," Xander retorted, "but not for want of trying on Uncle Fabio and Uncle Ron's parts. Given who Uncle Ron is, you'd think there'd be hundreds of the little buggers running around."

"You know that in his line of work they have to take precautions against that sort of thing," Evan pointed out, "otherwise the industry would collapse when half their workforce went on maternity leave."

"True," Xander conceded. "Tell them that I'll do my best, but given everything that's going on, it might not be for a few weeks."

"They'll understand," Evan assured him, "and it'll take that long to make the arrangements for the meeting anyway."

"Hey, what are you doing now?" Xander asked suddenly.

"I'm on call at the moment," Evan replied, "so I can't go too far. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I thought that you could come meet Buffy and the others," he suggested, wanting to spend a little more time with his cousin. "I'm sure you'll get along with Dawn just fine, given that you're both at the same level of maturity."

"Has anyone ever told you you'd make a fine comedian?" Evan asked him.

"No."

"There's a reason for that," Evan said dryly.

"Wiseass. So, you up for it?"

"Sure," Evan replied, Xander almost able to feel the shrug that came with it, "as long as you don't mind if I have to leave at short notice."

"That isn't a problem," Xander assured him, knowing how important Evan's job was to him. "I'm making my way to the hotel now, so I'll meet you there."

"Alright, Alex, see you in a bit."

Xander put his cell away and, after finally taking note of where he was, as he'd been walking aimlessly for the last hour or so, began to make his way back to the hotel, foregoing a taxi because he was enjoying the, relatively, fresh air.

* * *

**Halliwell Manor, San Francisco.**

Xander looked around and was very happy to see the three sisters getting along so well, and hoped that tonight would be the beginning of a whole new chapter in the lives of the Charmed Ones. Paige seemed to be far more relaxed than she had been earlier in the day, and she had calmed down quite a bit by the time he had left them alone.

Piper and Phoebe also seemed to be more... content than he'd seen them, and it seemed that Paige was helping them come to terms with Prue's death. He just hoped that they saw Paige as a person in her own right, and not a replacement for Prue, as while it might make things easier in the short term, it would cause being problems further down the road.

Once Leo returned, they would begin to explain to Paige the other side of her heritage, and the decision she had to make, a decision that Xander hoped she would make quickly and, in his opinion, correctly. Of course, the only opinion that mattered on that point was Paige's herself, and he would support her no matter what, but he did hope that her decision would be to reform the Power of Three.

Cole was currently sitting at the opposite side of the room from him, although it wasn't entirely by choice. Xander had learned last night that Cole was not exactly the most talkative of people, which was understandable given the main topics of conversation he'd be able to contribute to would turn the most hardy of stomachs. Another thing they'd discovered was that, while he just felt a little on edge when close to Leo, he felt downright freaked out when in the presence of Xander.

It was understandable really; the demon in him rebelled against being around a Whitelighter like Leo, but Cole's human half was enough to suppress it, mostly. As Xander was several rungs up the celestial ladder, it wasn't surprising that Cole found it difficult to be near him, but the end result was that Xander currently had nothing to do.

To pass the time, he thought back to earlier that day, when Evan had met with Buffy, Joyce and Dawn. As he'd predicted, Evan had been an instant hit with Dawn, and both Buffy and Joyce had found it nice to meet a member of Xander's family that he would admit to being related to.

Evan had entertained the ladies with stories from his childhood, his tales proving that, unlike Xander, he'd grown up in an environment where his abilities were seen as the norm, which had been possible due to his living in a family of Savox demons, and in a community ran by their clan.

While Xander had needed to hide his abilities from his adoptive parents, friends and teachers for fear of what would happen, Evan had been free to explore the things he could do, leaving him with tales of damaged cars and buildings from he'd been unable to stop in time after running too fast, or the time when he singed the carpets from trying out a fire spell in his bedroom, to more conventional stories like the time he got suspended from school for getting caught trying to sneak into the girls locker room.

Xander had been pleased that Evan got along with Buffy and the others so well, as it was the first time both sides of his family had come together, something he'd never thought he would get to see.

Two laughter filled hours later, Joyce had reluctantly told them that she needed to get back home, as while she trusted her staff to run the gallery in her absence, there was an important exhibition taking place soon that she needed to personally supervise, so Leo had come over after Evan had left and graciously transported both her and Dawn back to LA, where they would then travel to Sunnydale.

He would have orbed them all directly to Sunnydale, but a Hellmouth was not the most pleasant, or safe, place for a Whitelighter to orb to, especially with passengers, so it was decided to err on the side of caution. Xander had considered letting them use the company jet to get back to LA, but realised that Buffy would be needing it when she went on her first recruitment mission.

Xander didn't like sending Buffy out the way he was, even if she did agree to it, and he **definitely** didn't like sending her alone, but he knew that she would have the best chance of at least getting them to talk, and by going alone she would be able to get to him with less chance of those that would be against his leaving to help finding out. The last thing she needed to be was the centre of attention with that group of people.

When it got closer to the time when he would need to make his way to the Manor, Buffy had decided that instead of going with him, she would do a patrol of the local area, her Slayer side getting decidedly antsy from not being used the last couple of days.

It reminded Xander that while she was with him, and later out recruiting, it meant that Sunnydale was without a Slayer, so he had gotten on the phone and asked for Faith to go with Joyce and Dawn to keep a lid on things in Buffy's absence.

Faith had initially been a little reticent about the idea, as while she had been okay with them during the impromptu reunion, she had yet to make peace with the Scooby Gang, and was worried about how she would be received. Xander had assured her that there wouldn't be any problems, as they knew hoe much she had changed, but warned her that it wouldn't be as easy as saying sorry and everything then automatically being forgiven. Faith had told him that she knew it wouldn't be as simple as that; she just hoped that she would at least be given the opportunity to make amends.

Once that had been sorted out, and he'd chatted with her a while to see how things were going in the City of Angels, he was running late and had rushed out of the suite, but not before reminding Buffy to use the 'spare room' before she went out to stock up on weaponry before she went on patrol. Henry had, of course, been waiting for him out front, and they soon made it to the Halliwell's, Henry showing his expert knowledge of the roads and traffic to ensure that Xander got there only a few minutes late.

He'd told Henry to take the rest of the night off, as he'd make his own way back, and told him to take a look on the back seat when he took the limo back, knowing exactly what he would find; tickets for him and the whole family to go to Disneyland for the week, a thank you for being the one to drive him and the other around. He knew that Harry rarely went out on jobs anymore now that his business was going so well, a decision that had been well received by his wife, and it was Xander's way of showing his appreciation.

A sparkle of blue lights, indicating that Leo was back from LA, brought Xander out of his musing, although if that hadn't the scream that came from Paige sure would have.

"What the hell?!" she screamed as she saw Leo materialise in front of her.

"I knew we forgot something," Xander muttered to himself, having wanted to broach the forthcoming subject a little more subtly than that. Everyone else was so used to the thing they did, that it was sometimes difficult to forget that other people didn't especially when you had every intention of letting them in on it anyway.

"I repeat, what the hell was that?" Paige asked again, although this time much calmer, mainly due to the calm demeanour of everyone else in the room.

"That, Paige, was Leo returning from Los Angeles," Xander told her, wanting to keep to the truth as much as possible. So far, he hadn't lied to Paige, something of a novelty given that he'd lied constantly to almost everyone he'd ever met. "Oh, by the way, this is Leo Wyatt, Piper's husband. He's also her and Phoebe's Whitelighter."

"Huh?"

"You know you told me you knew about the supernatural; magic and all that?" Xander went on. "The reason you had noticed what everyone else had passed off as a trick of the light or something is because you are capable of doing the same things, more or less."

"You've lost me again," Paige said, shaking her head.

Cole sighed and decided to join the conversation. "You're a witch."

"Hey! There's no need to be rude."

"He wasn't being rude," Phoebe told her softly, "he was stating a fact. You, we," she went on, indicating herself and Piper, "are witches. There have been witches in our family for generations, and will be for generations to come. It's in our blood."

"Alright, say that I believe you," Paige said, although her tone was more than a little sceptical, "does that mean that Leo and Xander are witches too?"

"Not exactly," Leo replied. "I am a Whitelighter, which basically means that I am a guardian angel. Every naturally born witch has one, and I am Piper and Phoebe's, and if you allow it, I can also be yours. I can't perform magic as such, but I have been... gifted with certain abilities to help me in my duties."

"Like your Star Trek moment just now?"

"Yes, although it's actually called orbing. Normally a Whitelighter has many different witches to look after, and they can be in different parts of the world, so orbing allows us to be there almost the moment we are called for help. I can also levitate," Leo went on, proving it by levitating a foot or so from the ground and moving around a little before landing again, "I can appear to be someone else," he changed his appearance to match Xander's for a moment before returning to normal, "and I also have the ability to heal, but I won't be demonstrating that right now, for obvious reasons."

"Alright," Paige said slowly, finally starting to believe that she was in fact seeing what she was seeing, and not in some drug induced hallucination, "what about you Xander? And why do I get the feeling you have known a lot more about all of this than you initially told me?"

"Because you are a very intelligent woman," Xander told her with a smile. "I want you to know that I have always answered your questions honestly, although not always completely."

"I believe you, I don't know why, but I do."

"You have the ability to sense when someone is being untruthful to a certain degree. It won't allow you to sense when someone is holding back information, but it can help you to figure out whether the information they do give you is correct. As for what I can do, I'm a Mage, not a witch. May male magic users are known as warlocks, and are by and large evil, whereas a Mage isn't at least not necessarily."

"What do you mean?"

"Magic isn't evil or good, it simply is; the application of that magic, the intent of the person using it, decides that. There are many spells that used in one way can be very beneficial, but very destructive in another. Warlocks have generally been tainted by the demonic, and therefore are evil by nature; a Mage has the choice of how to use magic, and some use it for good, others for evil."

"I notice you haven't told me what you can do," Paige pointed out.

"True. It's difficult to explain what I can or cannot do, so I will keep it to the basics; I am recognised as a powerful Mage in my own right, and I can do everything that Leo can. I am also far stronger, faster and more agile than most creatures, and nigh on invulnerable."

"Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, can leap tall buildings in a single bound?" Paige asked with a wry smile.

Xander smirked. "Something like that. That particular comic character was based on a real person, who had come to Earth to scout it out as a possible colony for his planet. Luckily, events prevented that from happening, however, so it wasn't something we had to be overly worried about."

Xander looked around the room and saw that they were all looking at him as though he'd just grown a second head, something he knew hadn't happened. The three sisters he could understand, but he was surprised to receive similar looks from Leo and Cole. Admittedly, Xander thought that Leo's look was more to do with the realisation that a comic book was based on fact, but Cole looked like he'd never heard of t at all.

"Cole, you can't possibly believe that after She created, well, everything, only one planet was created that could sustain life, do you?" Xander asked him, a little incredulously. "She's not exactly seen as someone who does things small, hence the **Big** Bang, and not the Relatively Small Bang."

"Well, no," Cole conceded, "but it's just not something I'd ever thought about before."

"Oh well, you learn something new every day." Xander realised that they'd gotten off track a little, and quickly rectified that. "Anyway, that's what I can do, generally speaking."

"No show and tell like Leo?" Paige asked, looking a little disappointed. She'd now gotten over the shock and was excited to see he could do.

"You've already seen some of what I can do," he told her, deciding to tease her a little. "Hell, you felt some of what I can do when I put that protective shield around you yesterday."

"True, but that doesn't show me how string or how fast you are."

Xander rolled his eyes, but conceded the point. Instead of discussing it further, he decided to get the demonstration out of the way, doing that by lifting with one hand the couch that Piper, Phoebe and Paige were sitting on over his head, mindful of the three women to ensure he didn't smash their heads against the ceiling.

"Um, Xander," Piper began, her voice wavering a little, "could you put us down, please?"

Xander bit back a smile, realising that was probably the nicest Piper had spoken to him, and obliged her request, putting the couch back down gently. "There you go. Now, Paige, it's now time to explain what**you** can do."

"What do you mean, what I can do? I can't do anything," she told him, confused.

"As we told you before, you're a witch, and have been from birth; you may not be able to consciously control them, but they are still there," Xander explained softly. "I know it's a difficult thing for you to remember, but the night that your parents passed away, you were in the car with them, weren't you?"

Paige's eyes darkened for a moment, as they always did as she thought of that fateful night. "Y-yes."

"When the accident happened, you suddenly found yourself outside of the car didn't you?" he asked her gently, already knowing the answer.

Xander had received what could be best described as the telepathic version of a fax from Michael, who had decided to help out a fellow warrior as best he could, and resulted in him now having a detailed account of Paige's life. Now that they knew who she was, it wasn't all that difficult to do, but it would have meant him returning to the celestial plane to do so, something that he couldn't afford to do right now.

Luckily, Michael had been more than willing to help, as it made him feel part of the fight. He knew he wouldn't be able to come down to Earth again, having used his final permitted visit a few years back, but still wanted to be as involved as he could, even if it meant doing the research Xander would need.

"One minute I saw the tree coming towards us, Mom and Dad screaming, and the next minute I'm outside the car, watching it... watching..." Paige's eyes began to tear up, and both Piper and Phoebe hugged her, knowing better than anyone the pain of losing a loved one.

"I'm sorry," Xander said sincerely, "I didn't mean to dredge up bad memories, but the reason that happened as that in your panic to get away, you unconsciously tapped into your power and orbed yourself out of the car."

it took Paige a moment for Xander's words to penetrate, but then they did her head snapped up to look at him. "Wait, orb? I thought you said only Whitelighters could orb?"

"That's true, but something we haven't told you is that Sam, your father, was Patty's Whitelighter, which means your are half Whitelighter and half witch. The reason they gave you up wasn't because they didn't want you, because they did; they did it because it was the only way to protect you from people who wouldn't want someone with the abilities of both a witch and a Whitelighter around, especially not one with your bloodline," Xander explained, finally able to tell her what he knew she had desperately wanted to hear.

"Why not?" Paige asked, her brain already close to bursting with information, but still needing to understand why they had done what they'd done.

"That is a long story," Piper told her.

* * *

It took almost three hours to explain everything to her, mainly because Piper and Phoebe used it as a way to let Paige get a better picture of who Patty and Prue were as people. They had gone into the Charmed Ones, the Power of Three, demons, the whole enchilada. 

Cole had given her a demonstration of what a demon looked like, allowing his Belthazor visage to come through, despite the protests of the others. Xander had actually been glad of it, as if nothing else it would relieve some of the pressure Cole had been been building up inside him by not doing so before.

Paige had of course freaked out a little, but after everything else that had gone on, the shock factor wasn't what it would have been if done sooner. Xander had also gone into a bit more detail about himself, and proved that he was on the side of the angels by actually showing his wings, the first time he had done so in front of anyone else.

They were a new addition, coming as part of the whole Power package, which was just another thing that had caused problems within the feathered community, as before him only those created by Her had that particular feature, which was why Whitelighters didn't have them, not the Elders.

He had refrained from showing them to the Scoobies, not because he was in any way ashamed of them in fact he thought they were kinda cool, but because he knew the girls would go all gaga over them and not leave him alone, always wanting to see them and feel them, which while giving him certain thoughts unbecoming of a person of his station, would quickly become annoying.

Then came the moment of truth, where they explained the danger Paige and her sisters were in, her particularly given that she was untrained in her abilities, and their hope that she would agree to completing the Power of Three and officially become one of the Charmed Ones.

"The way I see it," Paige began after they'd all given her time to collect her thoughts, "is that if I say now, not only will I be putting myself in greater danger, I'll also be putting my family in greater danger as well. All I've ever wanted to do in life was to help people; what sort of person would I be if I didn't help my family, and myself in the process?"

"Are you sure?" Xander asked. "You're not just doing this out of some obligation?"

"I'm doing it because I want to, because it's the right thing to do," Paige assured him, happy that he was looking out for her.

"Alright then, all you need to do is say this," Xander handed her a piece of paper, "out loud."

"That's it? I gotta say, it seems too easy. What if someone else said it?"

"Nothing," Xander replied with a shrug, "unless that someone else was also one of three sisters of the Warren/Halliwell line."

"Okay," Paige said, a little nervous, "here goes; Hear now the words of the witches, the secrets we hid in the night, the oldest of gods are invoked here, the great work or magic is sought. In this night and in this hour I call upon the ancient power, Bring your powers to we sisters three. We want the power, Give us the power."

As she recited the last word, a soft blue light surrounded the three sisters for a moment, another light passing between the them before it disappeared. Paige had to admit that she didn't feel all that different, but from the looks on Piper and Phoebe's faces, she guessed that it must have worked.

Piper looked around the others, a wide smile on her face. "We're back."


	6. Chapter 5A: Whistling Blade

_**Chapter Five A – Whistling Blade**_

**Vampire Safehouse, Prague.**

Blade was starting to get very pissed off, and for a man that was moody at the best of times, his current disposition did not bode well for the vampire population of Prague.

This was the third safehouse that he'd raided in as many days since he'd arrived in the Czech capital, and yet he still hadn't found any new leads on where Whistler was being held. For the last two years, Blade had been tracking Whistler's whereabouts, following one lead after another, only to find one dead end after another, or yet another lead to another part of the world.

For what was probably the hundredth time that night, Blade regretted his decision not to put the old man out of his misery himself, instead of leaving him with the gun and walking away. He'd've made damn sure that there wasn't a chance of Whistler coming back as a vampire had he been the one to do it, which was of the few things that Whistler had been truly frightened of happening to him, the others being outliving his daughter and, oddly, being bitten by snakes.

The unlucky suck-head to bear the brunt of his anger at the moment was Boris Kalikarov Tkaiczik, a known drug dealer and pimp. Boris was screaming his lungs out in agony, not that surprising really as he'd been pinned by his shoulders to the ground with broken chair legs and looked like a Picasso painting.

For the last half an hour Blade had been interrogating him, finding out not only everything he knew about Whistler's whereabouts, but everything he knew about the vampire network in the area. While retrieving Whistler was Blade's primary reason for being in Prague, that didn't mean that he couldn't have some fun and cut down the vampire population while he was at it.

"I swear, that's all I know!" Boris screamed hoarsely once again, hoping against hope that the torture would soon end. "The gimp was here until two days ago when orders came in for him to be moved again. They didn't tell us where he was being taken. I swear it!"

The Daywalker knew that there was no way that the bloodsucker was withholding anything, the schmuck was too scared and in too much pain to speak anything less than the absolute truth, so Blade pulled the chair legs out of Tkaiczik's body, doing so slowly in retaliation for the gimp comment he just made, and stepped away, allowing him to sit up.

"You're gonna let me go now right? You promised me you wouldn't hurt me no more if I told you everything I knew," Boris stated hopefully, having kept up his end of the bargain.

It would take him several days to heal up from the extensive list of injuries he currently had, especially as the rest of his gang was situated in several piles of ash around the warehouse, meaning that there would be no one to assist him. Once he was healed up, however, he would see to it that the Daywalker got what was coming to him.

Boris' question was answered a moment later when his head suddenly fell away from his body, it like the rest of him turning to dust to join the rest of his brethren.

"Not hurting anymore are you, you dumb fuck?" Blade growled, kicking at the ashen remains.

Sheathing his sword, Blade made his way through the remains of the building to his car, only to find that his hands were starting to shake as he gripped the wheel, the first sings that the Hunger was starting.

"Need more serum," he grumbled to himself, hating it every time but knowing that for the moment it was better than the alternative.

Opening the glove compartment, Blade removed the self-contained injector system loaded with his daily dosage. Even with the improvements Dr. Jenson had made, Blade knew that the effectiveness of the serum was lessening every day, and it wouldn't be long before it was completely useless.

The soon to be inevitable choice of drinking blood or allowing himself to starve to death was starting to play heavily on Blade's mind, unsure which choice he'd make when the time comes. He put that thought to the back of his mind, not wanting to dwell on it right now.

After inserting the mouth guard to stop himself from swallowing or biting off his tongue, Blade injected the serum into his jugular, riding through the muscle spasms that always followed. Once the spasms subsided, he turned the ignition and drove off at full speed back to his current base of operations, needing to restock on bullets before going out again.

Blade had a feeling that his search for Whistler was finally coming to an end, and if there was one thing he'd learned above anything else, it was to trust his feelings.

* * *

**Blade's Temporary Headquarters, Prague.**

Even with his retrofitted sound system blaring, Scud could still make out the unique sound of Blade's tricked out 1968 Dodge Charger as it roared into the garage. As he turned round, he had a moment of panic as he saw the car zooming towards him, his harness ensuring he wouldn't be able to move out of the way in time, and breathed a sigh of relief when the vehicle stopped an inch away from him.

"Yo boss man!" he called out over the noise, still a little shaky from the near miss. "How'd it go?"

Blade ignored him, as he usually did when he first got back from a patrol empty handed, but Scud was certain he heard a growl as he pushed by. He didn't take it to heart, as he had gotten used to Blade's less than jovial demeanour, and knew that it was just the way he was. After following Blade's movements for a couple of seconds, Scud returned to his latest project.

As he walked over to the armoury to check and reload his pistols, Blade suddenly sensed a presence behind him and to his right. In a blur of motion, he span round and placed the edge of his sword against the intruder's neck, mildly surprised that they didn't flinch.

"Who are you?" he growled threateningly, although with Blade you could never really tell the difference between a threatening tone and any other tone that he used.

Instead of answering, the man motioned to the sword that was pressed against his throat. Blade realised that if he even went to speak, the weapon would slice through the man's neck like a knife through hot butter, and so he reluctantly moved it away, but only enough to allow him to talk.

"Thank you," the man said in gratitude, causing Blade to raise an eyebrow in surprise at the politeness. Most of his opponents couldn't say a sentence without cussing if their lives depended on it, although neither could he a lot of the time. "My name is Daniel Jackson, and I've come on behalf of a friend to help you find your mentor."

"Where is Whistler?" Blade demanded immediately, moving the sword back to Daniel's neck for a moment before remembering why he'd pulled it back in the first place.

"First things first," Daniel replied, doing his best to keep his tone neutral, "I'd really appreciate it if you could put your sword away. I'm not here to fight, and I will freely tell you what I know, so there is no reason to threaten me."

Blade looked at Daniel hard for several long moments before turning to his resident mechanical genius. "Scud."

"Yeah bossman?" the motorhead replied next to him, having stopped what he'd been doing to join the other two.

"Lights."

Scud walked over and flicked a few switches on the panel in front of him, and a wall of UV lights the other side of the warehouse came on, which were guaranteed to kill any and all vampires in the room, unless you were the Daywalker of course. When Daniel didn't dust, or even look the least bit affected, Blade put away his sword and stepped back a pace or two, but still well within striking range.

Daniel breathed a sigh of relief; he knew logically that he couldn't be hurt by Blade's sword, at least not permanently, but he really didn't want to give the man, who actually reminded him a little of Teal'c before he found a sense of humour, a reason to find out.

"Again, thank you," he told him sincerely.

"Where is Whistler?" Blade asked again, his tone less demanding than before, but still with a definite edge to it.

"Whistler is being moved by train to Moscow tonight; they know that you've already searched there recently, and are willing to bet you wouldn't make a return journey for the moment," Daniel informed him without preamble, knowing that was the best way to deal with the hunter.

"When?" Blade asked in the same demanding tone, suspicious as to why this perfect stranger would be divulging the information so freely.

"In around two hours time at the abandoned rail yard at the south of the city, give or take" the archaeologist replied, "they've had a track installed connecting it to the main line. They've rigged his stasis tank with explosives, so you'll need to take out all the guards with him at once or they'll trigger them."

"Why are you helping me?" Blade asked suspiciously, having learned a long time ago to always look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Because you need it," Daniel replied simply, although both men knew there was more to it than that. "You do a lot of good and help a lot of people, as has Whistler; it's only fair that someone does the same for you."

"What's in it for you?"

"My friend would like you to meet him once Whistler is fit to travel," Daniel admitted to him, knowing it would be fruitless not to, "but that would purely be your choice. As I told you already, I am here to help you retrieve Whistler, something my friend and I would have assisted with regardless of anything else. I know you have no reason to trust me," he went on, which received a snort to accompany the suspicious look Blade was sending his way, "but I am asking you to do just that; trust me to help."

"Hey Bossman," Scud said, his demeanour screaming to anyone that would listen just how uncomfortable he was feeling at the moment, "I don't know about this, it could be a trap."

"I think everything is a trap, that's why I'm alive," the half vampire told him in a matter of fact tone, and Daniel had to hold back a bark of laughter at the Princess Bride reference. It seemed that there was more to the Daywalker than meets the eye.

"As an added bonus, Blade," the ascended being told him, glancing at Scud, "I thought you might want to know that your… associate here is a familiar of Damaskinos, charged with keeping you focussed on rescuing Whistler so his master can carry out his plans without your interference."

"I know," Blade replied simply.

Before Scud had a chance to react, Blade cold cocked him with the hilt of his sword, dropping the man like a stone and breaking his jaw, and then quickly bound his wrists and ankles tightly with rope. While Blade had no compunction to killing humans, he preferred to keep it on a purely self defence basis... mostly.

Blade would freely admit that his moral code was far more lax than many would like, and there were times when he would almost agree with them that he went too far, but until the hunter found a way to do what he did that worked as well but with less collateral damage, he would continue the way he was and deal with the consequences.

"Why did you do that?" Daniel asked, trying to keep his feelings out of his voice.

Xander had warned Daniel to keep his personal morals at the door when dealing with Blade and other people that he was going to be sent to recruit. He had almost taken offence to that, until Xander explained that people who fought the darkness normally did so on their own and with little to no money.

Xander had also explained that most people in Blade's line of work had a little darkness of their own within them, generally because personal tragedy was the main catalyst for them taking up the cause, but this was the first time he had really seen it in action.

While he was upset about how Blade, and others like him, worked, Daniel was more upset over how they'd been left with little or no choice in the matter. Daniel could understand how it could happen; if he, Jack and the others were fighting the Goa'uld on their own without the resources of the United states government behind them, Daniel knew that sooner or later they would begin to do things that they would otherwise never do, because to do otherwise would mean their deaths.

Even he, who was seen by many as the moral compass of the SGC, could see himself acting in a way similar to Blade and some of the other Champions that Xander had given him info on had he been placed in a similar situation, and so had agreed to reserve judgement until he had seen things up close and personal.

"Now I have a good lead on Whistler, I don't need him." Blade gave the unconscious Scud a kick. "That was for the music."

"If you've finished," Daniel said, not entirely able to hide his displeasure at what Blade had just done, "we don't have much time."

Blade didn't respond, instead he began to kit himself out for war. Once he'd ensured he'd had enough weapons and ammo to take on a small army, Blade made his way to his car, only to be stopped by Daniel, who cleared his throat softly but enough to get the other man's attention.

"If we don't have much time, what the fuck are you doing standing there?" the Daywalker growled in annoyance.

"No offence, Blade, but there is no way we'll sneak up on them in that mobile noise maker," Daniel told him, "not to mention there are at least three separate tracking devices in place around the car put there by Scud."

"Then what do you suggest?" he snapped with a growl, his anxiousness to retrieve Whistler fraying his already worn patience.

Before Blade had a chance to complain, Daniel had moved towards him and placed his hand on Blade's shoulder, whisking them away in a shower of light.

* * *

**Abandoned Rail Yard, Prague.**

"How the fuck did you **do** that!" Blade demanded angrily as they appeared at their destination, although he had the presence of mind to keep his voice down. He took a look out at the rail yard, and could see that the place was pretty much swarming with vampires and familiars, as they wanted to make certain that they got Whistler out of the country.

"That is part of what my friend wants to talk to you about," Daniel replied as he kept a look out for the cavalcade that would contain Whistler and his captors. "He also wants to talk to you about your upcoming choice, and whether there may well be an alternative option to the ones you believe you have."

During Xander's time in Colorado, when he'd first asked him to meet and help Blade, Daniel had asked Xander why he couldn't just retrieve Whistler himself and deliver him to the Daywalker. He had explained what Blade was like, and how he'd react to certain things, and had gone on to tell Daniel what he should and should not do to assist Blade in the rescue of Whistler, with the big no no being just popping, taking him, and then popping out again.

When Daniel had asked why not, arguing that it would be the most expedient way to do it, not to mention the most risk free, Xander had explained that Blade felt responsible for the position Whistler was in, and had to be the one to retrieve him. Also, while Daniel's presence in the area wouldn't be looked at too closely, a lot of questions would be asked as to why an ascended being would save a vampire, which is what Whistler was at the moment, especially one with ties to the Daywalker.

It reminded Daniel a little of the restrictions The Others had put upon him, which was the main reason why he'd argued the point, but soon realised that being asked to do things a certain way was a far cry from being told not to do anything at all, and had eventually acquiesced.

"Where are they?" Blade asked after a moment, eager to retrieve his mentor.

"They'll be here any minute," Daniel replied quietly, "Whistler will be in the large ice truck, as they're keeping him in a state of suspended animation when they're not torturing him."

The feral growl that emanated from Blade at that piece of information made Daniel realise that he could have been a little bit more diplomatic in how he had said that, but shrugged it off. Daniel had realised almost immediately that Blade would be more responsive to someone who told him like it is than someone who tried to dazzle him with their wordplay, so he had decided to take a leaf out of Jack's book, at least a little. If he acted **too** much like Jack, however, Daniel just knew he'd find out how sharp that sword of Blade's actually was.

"Have you thought about what you're going to do once you've rescued him?" Daniel asked.

"Finish what I started," Blade told him after a moment, his tone surprisingly soft.

Before Daniel could asked what he meant by that, the convoy they had been waiting for made its appearance. The moment they came into view, Blade went to launch himself into the air, but Daniel held him back.

"I told you that they have his stasis tank rigged; if you just go charging in, he'll be dead before you get halfway there," Daniel told him as he tried not to wilt under the glare he was in receipt of.

"That what do you suggest?" Blade asked, his tone telling Daniel he didn't think he'd come up with much.

"The best chance to get Whistler is when they're moving him from the truck to the train, but we've got to put both out of commission so there's no way to escape." Daniel moved his hand within his robes for a moment, and when he pulled it out he showed Blade that he had brought a few small blocks of C4 and a remote detonator with him, compliments of Xander's 'spare room' as he doubted that Hammond would have given him authorisation. "I'll deal with the train, you deal with the truck, and we get the drop on them from both sides."

It wouldn't normally be Daniel's first suggestion to just blow everything up, but they were short on time and even shorter on manpower, so they had to hit them hard and hit them fast. He wasn't too worried for himself, as there wasn't anything any of them had that could seriously hurt him, but Blade was another matter. He was quite certain that Xander would not be best pleased if he got Blade killed, as it would be a blow for their side to lose a Champion so early on in their campaign.

"I might just start to like you," Blade said with a toothy smile that was more frightening than funny. "You're like a nerd with attitude."

Daniel ignored the comment and passed Blade a block and a detonator, knowing that he'd be able to get close enough to the truck without being detected, and then made his own way to the front car of the train, keeping himself to the shadows and also fading out of normal visual range.

It was a little trick he'd only just found out he could do, when Jack had wanted to put him through his paces before 'allowing' him to go on a lone wolf mission like the one he was on at the moment. It had annoyed Jack no end when Daniel had been able to get by him so easily, but quickly realised the benefits it would have on regular missions with the rest of SG-1.

Having positioned himself underneath the engine car, Daniel placed the charge directly under the middle of the car, and then armed it. Moving away from the train, he was able to make out a dark shape moving out from under the truck, moments before nearly two dozen vampires flooded out of the truck, another dozen leaving the motorcade that had accompanied it.

Daniel watched as they began to carry a large metal container, no doubt the stasis pod containing Whistler, and waited for them to be a relatively safe distance from the truck before he used the remote detonator in his hand to set off the charges, and two large fireballs lit up the night sky, and all hell broke loose.

As he made his way into the fray, Daniel saw Blade launch himself into the air, and two gleaming pistols appeared, as though from thin air, in his hands. Daniel watched in stunned awe at the efficiency in which Blade dispatched the vampires in his way, one move flowing into the next like a dance of death. His specially modified weaponry made short work of the vampires and familiars that dared to try and keep him from his goal.

Daniel found that the temptation to use his powers were great, and he recognised the irony of the situation for what it was. Before, he had been annoyed because he wasn't allowed to use his powers to help people, and now that he could use his powers he was reluctant to do so.

Luckily, he had heeded both Xander and Jack's advice and had brought a few weapons with him, tucked neatly away within the folds of his robes. He'd rolled his eyes at Xander when he'd suggested the attire to wear when recruiting, but had realised that it would help disassociate himself from the military, and especially the SGC. It was the same reason he kept to conventional weaponry, as it would raise a few eyebrows if he were to lose a zat somewhere.

Luckily, he worked with the best and brightest, including one particular Major, who had pretty much insisted that she develop ammunition that would better deal with the nastier creatures he'd be facing, although he had to admit that they hadn't been tested as yet.

"Well, no time like the present," he muttered to himself as he advanced and began to fire at the seemingly endless supply of enemies that were pouting out of the vehicles and train.

He soon found that the ammunition was indeed effective, although seeing the bodies burning from the inside out was a little disturbing. Blade's did the same, but it was different when he was the one pulling the trigger. Daniel concentrated on the vampires, his abilities allowing him to distinct between them and the humans with them, and only fired upon the familiars if fired upon first.

Daniel could see that the rear cars were attempting to get away, and decided that a little application of his power was necessary to keep them where they were. Needing to keep any overt use his abilities to a minimum, he though of what happened to the Jaffa at Kheb, and noticing the cloudy sky above them, thought of the perfect thing.

After a moments concentration, several lightning bolts impacted the last car in the group, causing it to explode. He hadn't thought it would work, remembering something about a car being the safest place to be in a lightning storm, but was happy that it did.

Meanwhile, Blade had started on the second and third vehicles in the group, deciding to get a little closer to the action and returned his pistols to their holsters and unsheathing his sword. It seemed that only a couple of his opponents had any serious martial arts knowledge, which meant that once those had been dealt with, Blade had been able to weave through the rest like a river, and soon had nothing but piles of hot ash surrounding him as he made his way to the stasis pod, now lying on its side but from what he could tell still operational.

Daniel didn't go with him, knowing that it was something that Blade needed to do alone, and instead ensured that he wouldn't get broadsided by anyone slipping in behind him. There were still a few stragglers, those that had either been to lucky or too cowardly to be killed already, and they took Blade's seemingly distracted state as an opportunity to remove a major thorn in the vampire nation's side.

Daniel took several more out with his weapons, but had to take it close quarters when he ran out of ammo, and was appreciative for all the time he'd spent in the gym and training with Teal'c and Jack before he ascended. He did make a note, however, to ensure that he brought with him at least one bladed weapon with him from now on, as dusting vampires wasn't easy without them, and he would be having sleepless nights for some time over how he got around it.

About five minutes later, Blade and Daniel were the only two left standing, the half-vampire stepping away from the stasis pod, to Daniel's surprise, with a semi conscious Whistler in his arms. From everything he had read, and from the way that Blade had been speaking, he'd been under the impression that he was going to dust Whistler, both to ensure that his body would no longer be tortured on a daily basis, and also to make up for his perceived mistake in not killing him when he had the chance.

"We need to get him back," Blade told him as they got closer, "I have a retrovirus that should cure him."

Daniel knew better than to ask any questions, at least not at that very moment at least, and simply nodded in assent before placing his hands on their shoulders and transporting them all back to Blade's HQ.

* * *

**Abandoned Warehouse, Prague.**

It had been three days since Daniel and Blade had rescued Whistler from his two year long captivity, and a lot had happened.

Blade had put Whistler in a time locked chamber the moment they had arrived back after injecting him with the retrovirus, and had explained to both Whistler and himself that no matter what, the shutters would be opened at sunrise and would bathe the chamber in sunlight. If the retrovirus worked, Whistler would be fine, but if it didn't then Whistler would finally be at peace.

Just as Blade had said, the shutters opened at the coming of the morning sun, and Daniel had heard the small sigh of relief he'd breathed when he'd seen a fully intact Whistler slowly, painfully make his way outside.

As a further show of goodwill, Daniel had used his abilities to not only cure Whistler of the cancer he had, but also the bum leg when the man had complained about, stating that the least the suck heads could have done was the same when they tortured him. He had received a sincere thank you from the older man, more for the cancer than the leg, but could tell that neither Whistler nor Blade really trusted him yet.

That didn't bother Daniel too much, as he knew that the only reason they were so distrustful was because they had been betrayed on more than one occasion by people they had considered friends and comrades, Scud being a prime example of that, and the pair were gun shy about trusting anyone else.

The next item on the agenda had been to change their base of operations. After packing everything up that they needed, they left the warehouse, leaving Scud surrounded by the tracking and listening devices they'd removed from Blade's car. They had knocked him out again and then dosed him up with a cocktail of drugs that would wreck his short term memory, which would hopefully remove any memory of Daniel from his mind.

Blade and Whistler had been all for just killing him, which was pretty much their S.O.P., but Daniel had managed to persuade them otherwise, stating that killing in defence was a lot different to killing in cold blood, and if they wanted to differentiate between themselves and the vampires they are at war with, they had to hold themselves up to a higher moral code. Daniel could tell that while they had agreed to his decision, they weren't really swayed by his argument, and had done it more because of what he had done for them than anything else.

Their decision to leave him alive hadn't stopped Whistler from getting in a few swift kicks to Scud's midsection, however, when he'd seen the mess that the young motorhead had made of the engine in Blade's car, complaining that it would take him forever to put things back the way they were before his 'enforced sabbatical'.

Once they'd holed up in a warehouse the other side of the city, Blade had begun to catch Whistler up with everything he'd missed the last couple of years, and Daniel had taken the opportunity to not only allow them some privacy, but to also call in and inform Hammond of his situation, something that Jack had damn near demanded he do otherwise he'd be in trouble. The threat hadn't been as effective as it had been prior to his ascension, not that it had been all that effective before, but he'd humoured Jack and agreed, although it had more to do with the concerned look he'd received from Sam than anything else.

He'd also contacted Xander, who had told him that he would be arriving himself in a day or two, as he'd pinpointed where a friend of his was and wanted to see how he was doing.

"So when's this Xander getting here," Whistler asked as he walked up to Daniel.

"Should be any time now," Daniel replied, not for the first time. "How are you adjusting to humanity again?"

"I still feel like hammered shit," Whistler replied shortly, "but I'd be feeling a helluvalot worse if you and Blade hadn't gotten me away from those leeches. Me and Blade will soon be needing to get the hell out of dodge, so he better get his ass here soon or he's gonna be shit out of luck."

"Ask and you shall receive," a voice behind them said.

They turned around and saw two figures surrounded by a pale blue light for a moment, and then the light disappeared and the two began to walk towards them. As they got about halfway, one of the two suddenly stopped and caught the glaive that had been aimed at their head with ease, which had disturbed the thrower as they hadn't even been looking in his direction.

"You gotta be more careful with these things, Blade," they chided Blade calmly, "as you could poke someone's eye out."

"Xander, you remember that I asked you to warn us before you arrived," Daniel reminded him as he approached, shaking the man's hand. "You should know better than to just appear like that."

"I do," he admitted unrepentant, "but it was just too tempting." Xander turned to Blade, who looked like he wanted to ram his sword so far up his ass he'd be able to taste the tip. "I'm sorry for just arriving unannounced," he told him, although his tone didn't sound all that apologetic, "but we had to make a swift exit."

"Why?" Blade asked, curious despite himself, as given everything Daniel had told them about the man standing before him there wasn't much that could even scratch him.

Leo and Xander glanced at each other for a moment. "Girl talk," they replied in unison.

The men, apart from Daniel, shivered at that. The only reason the linguist didn't react the same was that he'd always made friends faster with women than with men; his quiet and polite demeanour endearing him to the female members of the different families he'd been fostered with during his childhood years, and had therefore been included in many a 'girl talk' session and hadn't the same fear of it like other men.

"Who's your friend?" Whistler asked, looking at Leo suspiciously.

Leo took it upon himself to answer that. "My name is Leo Wyatt, and Xander here asked for a lift, which given the circumstances I was more than happy to provide."

"You've got all those fancy schmancy powers like Daniel ain't ya," Whistler drawled, "so why did you need a lift? You too high and mighty to do things for yourself?"

"If I use my powers too much on Earth it'll cause problems with what I'm trying to set up," Xander explained, thinking that he might need to record that so he wouldn't have to keep repeating himself every time he met someone. "Leo here is a Whitelighter, and he and his colleagues regularly transport themselves all over the world, so there wouldn't be the same questions raised. The same with Daniel; his, now former, colleagues frequently visit Earth and look around their old stomping grounds, so no one would take much notice for there being one more around."

"So, what brought you here?" Daniel asked after a moment. "I know you said you'd found out where a friend of yours was and wanted to visit them, but with everything that's going on I would have thought you'd put it off."

"Normally I would have, but I think that Oz is in trouble, and if I didn't help him Willow would never forgive me, and I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."

"Isn't Oz the werewolf you told me about?" Daniel asked, remembering the conversation he'd had with Xander last week.

"You come half way around the world to help a lycan?" Blade asked disgustedly.

"People who need blood to survive don't get to take the moral high ground here buddy," Xander snapped in reply, and his whole appearance suddenly became darker, and the warehouse felt several degrees colder. "My job is to help the good guys beat the bad guys, and Oz **is** a good guy."

"Whatever," Blade said dismissively, before he turned and walked back to the training area.

"Don't mind Blade," Whistler told him, "he's just gets a little grumpy when its a day ending in 'y'."

"I don't care what problems he has," Xander informed him coldly, "if he truly thinks that all demons should be killed on sight, the he should start with himself."

"Xander!" Daniel and Leo exclaimed in shock.

"For someone who normally resides in Heaven, you don't sound all that heavenly pal," Whistler growled before he stalked off in the same direction as Blade.

"Xander, what's gotten into you?" Leo asked, surprised at the vehemence in the younger man's voice.

The last few days in Xander's company had removed a lot of the apprehension he'd initially felt when he'd showed up at the Manor, and because of that felt that he could speak more freely with him than he might with any of the other Powers. It was a trait that would come in handy for Xander in the coming days and weeks, as he'd find his task a whole lot more difficult if he'd the same attitude as the rest of his colleagues. Leo knew that if he'd called either Piper or Phoebe a 'lower being' things would have gone very differently.

"What's gotten into me? It's that I'm going to have to deal with his kind of attitude from pretty much everyone I meet," Xander sighed, his anger now gone. He knew that he'd been harsh both to and about Blade, and would need to fix it, but right now he needed to get this off of his chest. "All of the Champions have been doing their own thing, only occasionally meeting and/or helping each other, and they have gotten so used to every demon they meet wanting to kill them, that they've forgotten that the ones that**aren't** trying to kill them probably don't want to."

"Probably?" Daniel asked.

"Bad men do what good men only dream," Xander informed him, a small mirthless smile on his face. "Everyone at one time or another has thought about how they'd like to just kill their next door neighbour, or their boss, or their ex, but it's only the ones that actually **do** it that are evil. That's the other side's best advantage; they can clearly see who the enemy is, and because they're evil, don't have to worry about who gets in the way."

"Either way, you need to make things right with Blade," Daniel told him firmly, "especially if you want him on your side."

"I know." Xander ran his fingers through his hair and let out a sigh. "While I'm eating humble pie, can you find out the best conventional way to get up into the Carpathian Mountains?"

"Sure, why do you..." Daniel trailed off as his brain registered something. "Oh, you've got to be **kidding** me."

"What?" Leo asked in confusion.

"Please don't tell me we're going up against**Dracula**!?" he cried incredulously.

"Nah, Buffy killed him last year," Xander assured him, and then frowned a little, "at least, she killed one**version** of him." He held his hands up as he saw Daniel about to ask one of many questions forming in his brain. "We don't have time for me to go into details; all you need to know at the moment is that Oz is somewhere in the Carpathian Mountains, and not of his own free will."

"Fine, but why do we need to go by conventional means?"

"There are wards interwoven throughout the mountains so strong that not even a Power can get through," Xander explained, eliciting a gasp of shock from Leo, as he had a better understanding of the ramifications of that then Daniel. "It prevents entry or exit via mystical means, and also dampens any tracking spells used to find someone inside, which is the reason why we'll need transport to get in there, and my less than specific knowledge of where Oz actually is. The wards have been there since 1436, and the saying 'they don't make them like they used to' definitely applies to these. Ironically I'd have had better luck getting in before I died, given that it was one of my ancestors that put them there."

"Why would one of your ancestors do that?" Daniel asked in confusion.

"Because he was asked to by Vlad Dracul II shortly after he secured the throne of Wallachia," Xander answered bluntly. When he saw that Daniel's confusion only grew, he sighed and decided to give a very brief outline of his family business. "My kind are used primarily as protectors or assassins, Daniel, and my clan are comprehensively seen as the best in both fields."

"Oh."

"Yeah," Xander said with a small laugh, knowing how rare it was to get monosyllabic answers from Daniel, "oh."

* * *

Xander found Blade moving through a complex kata, twirling his sword so fast that only he enhanced vision allowed him to see it as anything other than a blur. Something he didn't need enhanced vision to see was that he was one pissed off vampire, half-vampire, whatever.

There was actually a debate as to whether Blade was a vampire with a genetic anomaly, a vampire/human hybrid, or the progenitor of a completely new race. Xander didn't really care at the end of the day, as labelling Blade only meant labelling **what** he is, not **who** he is.

Xander knew that Blade was a hard ass, distrustful almost to a fault, Whistler being his only Achilles Heel in that department, and hated any and all forms of authority, but there was something about him that Xander liked. It was a startling revelation, as he rarely liked vampires as a rule, Angel not counting as it was the soul he got on with, not the vampire.

"I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you," Xander said once Blade finished, not wanting to interrupt beforehand, "it was uncalled for."

"I don't give a shit," Blade told him gruffly, "and I notice you're not apologising for **what** you said."

"No, I'm not," Xander admitted, and was slightly surprised that Blade caught the difference. "Whether you like it or not, and I **know** that you don't, you are a demon, a unique demon to be certain, but a demon nonetheless. Your whole mindset over how all demons should be eradicated includes yourself, and yet you are desperately seeking ways to improve the serum you take to stay alive. That is a double standard, no matter how you slice it."

"I'm not like the others," Blade responded heatedly, taking Xander's comments as an accusation.

"No, you're not," Xander replied honestly, hoping to get through to him, "neither was I before I died," that comment made Blade pause, as he knew how big a deal it was to be a Power, and had never thought it possible that it would happen to a demon, "and neither is Oz now. I also know of a few other demons,**including** vampires, that are on the side of light. The vast majority of demons are evil, and do need to be removed with extreme prejudice, but to do it just because they're a demon would be just as bad as my killing you just because you're black."

"You were a demon?" Blade asked in mild surprise, his brain still caught on that.

"Yes, and now I am one of the Powers That Be, appointed by The Creator Herself. I often thought that, because of my lineage, my genetics, I would be damned from birth, but I wasn't, and neither are you." When he saw Blade about to say something, Xander went on to clarify. "That's not to say you've been given a free ticket to paradise, but I can guarantee that, when the time comes, you will be judged on your actions, not your DNA."

"Daniel said you might have an option for me, about the serum," Blade said after several moments of silence, his tone softer than normal.

"There are several options; some you will like, some you won't. The main one is that you can go back to drinking blood, something you can easily do without becoming like the things you kill. We both know that, with the way they've set things up, vampires could now all live without killing a single human, but they don't because they like to kill. It isn't the **blood** that makes them evil, it's the way they **get** it that does."

"I don't want to drink blood," Blade stated firmly.

"You might not have to all the time," Xander replied, knowing that it Blade had **major** issues over the whole subject. If it weren't for the fact he'd try to kill him on sight, he'd have Angel speak to him about it, given that he'd managed to live over a century without killing anyone to feed, not including those months when he wasn't himself. "The serum you take is becoming ineffective because it is building up in your system," Xander went on, "drinking blood for one week every month will help to flush it out of your system, which means that you should never become immune to it."

"I don't want to drink blood," Blade repeated stubbornly.

"You still have the option of the cure that lovely doctor of yours created," Xander reminded him, knowing that he had already turned down the treatment once before, "but as you know, you'll lose the abilities that make you so effective with what you do, which we both know you couldn't walk away from. It boils down to the fact that you cannot have it both ways; you can't have the strength, speed and healing without the blood."

"I know."

Xander's heart went out to the man in front of him, the defeated tone in his voice sounding nothing like the confident vampire hunter he usually was. Like most Champions, the choices Blade had to make were more like the lesser of two evils, and he had to choose which one he'd be able to live with more, than one he actually liked.

Being one of the good guys was a rough ride, with very little perks and a whole boat load of deficits. That was why so many were tempted by the darkness, as they were lured in by the money and power their positions would give them, and would only realise that they were paying for it with their soul when it far was too late.

That was why Xander, and in a sense The Creator, had made it his mission to try and change things so that being a White Hat wasn't such a demanding task. After this was all over, he'd look into it in far greater detail, but for now he'd just do whatever he could to make the lives of those that he met a little better.

"You still have time to think about it," Xander assured him, knowing that any decision Blade would make right now would be regretted by him later, "but for right now I would really appreciate it if you would help me find my friend."

"It's not like I have much of a choice."

"You always have a choice Blade," Xander assured him, leaving out that he might not always like the choices available, "and I won't make you help me if you don't want to."

If Xander were honest that wasn't exactly true; Xander might not force Blade to help, but he could definitely make it so that he had little option but to volunteer. It wasn't something he wanted to do, at least not until the stakes were on a much grander scale, but Oz was a Scooby, and he wasn't about to just leave him to whatever fate had befallen him. If that meant using his trump card now instead of later, well, so be it.

There was still the little matter of just what it was that Oz had found himself involved in, whether voluntarily or not. Xander was quite frankly a little irked that he had so little information concerning the situation, but that was all part and parcel with the wards in place; the beings that normally kept track of things like that were pretty much useless if they couldn't just pop in and out whenever they liked, so they pretty much leave the whole area to it's own devices.

Michael was particularly upset that he couldn't supply Xander with any further information, as not even the viewing pools could penetrate the wards with any accuracy, and without the ability to hone in on who and what he wanted to watch, Michael probably wouldn't be able to find him before Xander anyway.

One thing that Xander did know was that another possible Champion had been lost in the area a few months back, and that another had presumably died there a few years before that. Using the word presumably when talking about someone's death was not a normal occurrence, and Peter was more than a little annoyed about it.

It seemed that the guys aura had disappeared a few years back, which normally indicated that they'd died, but they hadn't made an appearance at the Pearly Gates, and they knew that Lucy didn't have him as he'd still be gloating over it, so Peter had asked Xander to find out one way or the other, something he'd been more than willing to do.

Of the two, the latter was a little more important than the former, at least to the other Powers, but that was only because they knew that the person in question would make Blade look like a yes man in comparison. That in itself was enough to make Xander want to find him, as anyone that could make that response from them couldn't be all bad.

"I'll help you."

"Thank you," Xander replied. He guessed that was all he'd get out of Blade, so he went to turn around, only for Blade to continue talking.

"I might have been wrong about your friend, but so might you," Blade told him. "If I see anything I don't like, I'm putting him down."

"If he's gone bad, you won't be able to, because I'd have already done it," Xander assured him, knowing that if Oz did need to be taken out, he needed to be the one to do it. He owed him nothing less.


	7. Chapter 5B

_**Chapter Five B – Whistlers, Gargoyles And Wolverines, Oh My**_

**Czech Border, Carpathian Mountains.**

"If we're going where I think we are, aren't we going to be in for a long drive?" Daniel asked.

Xander, Daniel and Leo were in a beat up, but functional, Land Rover, making their way through the Carpathian Mountains to a castle that few knew existed, at least not officially. That in itself wouldn't be that much of a problem, if it weren't for the fact that they were the opposite side of the mountain range than they wanted to be, and it would take a couple of days to get there.

"Well, yeah," Xander admitted after a moment, "but given that I don't have my passport on me, and I'm guessing neither do you or Leo, not to mention that Blade's face is on every corkboard in every police station in the northern hemisphere, this is our best option."

"Aren't we going to have the same problem as we cross the boundaries between countries on the way through?" Leo asked, knowing that while it might not be as stringent a security on the border roads as there would be at an airport, there would **still** be security.

"If we were talking about anywhere else, I'd agree with you, but most people believe that anyone stupid enough to drive through those mountains deserve whatever happens to them, and anyone who actually gets out again is more trouble than they want to deal with," Xander explained. "There's the occasional tourist group that goes through, wanting to see a Bela Legosi lookalike and say they saw Dracula's castle, but the governments that share the 'honour' of having the mountain range as part of their country ensure that those tours get ghosted by a few independents for their own safety. Any check points or security, basically anything official they see, are purely for show."

"If that's the case, why isn't it used more often?" Daniel asked, thinking that it would be the perfect avenue for people, either criminals or people who just want to run away, to move from one country to the next without fear of capture.

"As I said, most people believe you have to be either stupid or suicidal to go in, so most don't see it as an option," he told them.

It was true what Xander said, as apart from the mentioned tourists, it was rare for the people who entered the mountains to be seen again. The tourists generally got out unscathed, although there was the occasional incident where one would get hurt 'in an animal attack', but the independents normally ensured that there were no fatalities, helped in part by the demons themselves. They knew that their free reign in the mountain region would be jeopardised if too much attention was brought to the area, and were careful to leave the tourists alone, unless it had been a while since they'd fed.

It was a different story for anyone else. For those that tried to use the mountains as a way to escape, either from the law or just from their seemingly lives, do not get provided the same protection, and are seen by the nocturnal fraternity as free game. There are rarely investigations into their disappearances, and even if there were, their last known locations would not be the mountains so they wouldn't be any reason to search.

"Which are we then?" Daniel asked with a small smile.

Xander flicked his eyes over to the other two men, a similar smile on his own face. "Both."

* * *

"This car sounds like shit; I should have killed that snot nosed punk when I had the chance," Whistler groused from the passenger seat of the car, Blade doing his best not to listen. The older man had been complaining about what Scud had done to the car, amongst other things, non-stop, and it was starting to drive him mad.

Scud had been annoying, and that was not including his status as a familiar, but he knew cars better than almost anyone Blade knew aside from Whistler himself, and he'd needed someone to ensure the car and his other gadgets stayed in working order. Blade had never picked up much in the mechanical side of things, he just knew how to drive them very fast, so he'd have been up shit creek without a paddle without the pothead, but had never allowed himself to forget Scud's true loyalties.

"You know you won't get another chance," Blade told him, hoping that he'd stop his bellyaching, "Damaskinos would have had him killed the moment they found him."

"He was a familiar of Damaskinos?" Whistler said incredulously, knowing the ancient vampire's reputation. "Shit, Blade, you're going up in the world if a bloodsucker like that takes an interest."

"Ohh, exciting," Blade said sarcastically, not caring whether some ageing suckhead took notice of him or not, as their opinion of him good or bad meant nothing to him.

"You still alright about helping a lycan?" Whistler wondered, his tone indicating that he wasn't too thrilled about it himself.

"No," Blade admitted honestly, "but I'm giving Harris a chance to prove me wrong. Anyway," he went on after a moment, "I haven't been up against a werewolf in a while, and they're always more of a challenge than a suckhead."

"Just keep your head in the game," Whistler warned him, "we might not meet the big D here, but we both know that some of the most powerful vampires came from this region, and our luck is almost guaranteeing that we meet up with a few."

Blade's smile would have been unnerving to Whistler had he not gotten used to it. "Good."

* * *

Four hours later, the mini convoy was well within the mountains, and the sun was starting to set, not that it was very easy to tell. There was almost complete cloud cover in the sky, which made it difficult to tell what time of day it was, and it also meant that vampires and other creatures that were generally seen as nocturnal could come out and play a lot earlier than normal, at least those old enough or powerful enough to withstand the diffused sunlight that did get through the clouds. They hadn't seen anything as yet, but they knew that now the sun was setting, the chances of meeting the welcome wagon went up.

Most of their journey so far had been slow going, as while the 4x4 Xander, Daniel and Leo were in could handle the less than smooth terrain, Blade's Charger certainly couldn't, so they had to keep to their pace. They had suggested that they leave the Charger behind, and collect it later, but both Blade and Whistler had been adamant that wherever they go, it goes too. Xander had then dubbed the car Christine, given the way the two seemed obsessed with it, which got a laugh out of Leo and Daniel, a snort from Whistler, and a decidedly unamused glare from Blade, coupled with a single finger salute.

The road ahead of them was narrow, and quite obviously not well travelled, and throughout the journey they'd had trees, rock faces or sheer drops either side of them, meaning that there wasn't anywhere they could stop. If the cloud cover was less dense, and if the sun were higher in the sky, Xander was sure he would consider the passing scenery to be beautiful, but aesthetics aside, their current position made them very vulnerable if they were ambushed right now.

Eventually, they came to a sort of clearing, and the road widened considerably. Given that driving throughout the night would not be wise, even though all but one of the quintet had no problems with seeing in the dark, Xander realised that this was as good a place as any to set up camp for the night.

He parked the Land Rover off to one side, and waited for Blade to follow suit before explaining what was going on. "Alright, now that I'm inside the wards I've been able to track Oz down to a more specific location, and he's currently in Transylvania, more specifically Bran Castle."

"Bran Castle, isn't that otherwise known as Castle Dracula?" Daniel asked, his knowledge on the subject not what he'd like given the circumstances.

"Yep, although that's pretty much a misconception," he replied, his knowledge of the history of this area pretty extensive. "Vladislav III the Impaler, the son of Vladislav II Dracul, who was the guy that had the wards put in place, never actually lived there, although he did spend a couple of months there as a prisoner." When he saw that the only one who was showing much interest in his explanation was Daniel, who was always interested in learning something new, Xander decided to cut to the chase. "Most vampires that have been created here within the boundaries of the wards have been the worst of the worst, despite what Kakistos' fanboys would tell you. That's because only the most powerful demons could pass through the wards successfully to possess the corpses."

"That's all fine and dandy, but what does this have to do with your lycan friend?" Whistler asked impatiently.

"What it has to do with **Oz**, is that only a powerful vampire could overcome a werewolf," Xander replied, a little heatedly, "especially one who had learnt how to control the change as he had."

"We're not even sure that Oz is being held by a vampire," Daniel reminded him, deciding to play Devil's Advocate for a moment.

"You're right, we don't," Xander conceded, "but I can sense at least five vampires of comparable power to the **real** Dracula within close proximity to Oz. There is no way they would be there unless they were at least involved in whatever was happening to him. I am also almost certain that one of them will be Countess Elizabeth Bathory, who by all accounts is considered to be more powerful than even Dracula himself."

"The Blood Countess?" Daniel said in surprise, somewhat aware of the infamous woman's exploits. "It's been theorised that she killed up to 600 women during her mortal life, and had at least minor cannibalistic tendencies."

"Yeah, Liz made Hannibal Lector look like a saint in comparison," Xander commented dryly. "She actually requested that she to be turned, and had been rescued from her prison and brought within the wards to ensure that she had a powerful demon possess her. After she was turned, she moved to the Transylvanian mountains and hadn't been seen outside of it since. Unlike many demons of her stature, she has no desire for world domination or destruction, unless of course she got to kill every last human with her own bare hands. I do know that she rules over the town and villages within the mountains with an iron fist, but ensures that she doesn't overdo the bloodshed, so that it maintains her 'livestock' as she puts it."

"I look forward to sending her back to Hell," Blade growled, silently pledging to himself that he would not leave the area until he knew she was no longer a threat. As he looked over to Whistler, he received a nod, which meant that he was thinking much the same thing.

"You'll get your chance, don't worry about that, as I'm sure that she or one of the others would have felt our, or well at least my, presence by now. Be warned; she and the others are nothing like the vampires you have encountered before. While not immune, they are much more resilient against holy symbols, holy water, even sunlight. It will weaken them, but it will **not** kill them. They're also faster and stronger than normal vampires, and are more like the Bram Stoker novel than I'd like. A stake to the heart will only put them in a state of suspended animation, but decapitation after that will finish them off."

"I like a challenge," Blade told him with a smile.

In actual fact the news had actually made Blade feel a little nervous, but what would surprise those that knew him was that he was glad of that. He had started to find vampires almost absurdly easy to kill, easily taking on dozens at a time without feeling that his own life was in jeopardy.

He knew that he would start to get complacent, even lazy, if things continued as they had been, and would make him less prepared for the lucky shot that would inevitably come and kill him. For better or worse, Blade needed this, a battle where the outcome was in no way certain, to keep him sharp.

"I don't doubt that," Xander said with a grim smile, "but until we're ready, we're going to need to take precautions. I stopped here as this is as good a place as any to set up camp for the night."

"It's a little too open for my liking," Whistler grumbled, "not to mention the fact we could easily get penned in."

"I know that, but we're not going to find anywhere better from the looks of things, and to ensure we don't get broadsided, we're going to need to set up some defences. The vampires that were turned in these parts also have stronger psionic abilities than most other vampires, so the threat of psychic attack is very real, at least for you and Blade."

"What about you three?" Whistler asked.

"Leo and I will be safe, as our angelic nature, coupled with the fact that we're technically dead, prevents vampires from gaining access to our minds, at least not without our permission. The downside of our resistance, as I stated before, is that there will be little chance of either of us getting close without their knowing, although Leo will be able to get closer than myself."

"That rules out a sneak attack," Whistler noted, "but I never did like having too much of an advantage."

"Sneak attacks are for people who don't think they'd win against the enemy if caught," Xander went on, although he didn't entirely believe his own words. "Personally, I've always preferred the direct approach."

That much was true, as Xander had never met anyone, before Glory that is, that could take him on in a one on one situation and cause him too much trouble. However, he knew just how effective sneak attacks could be, especially when going up against greater numbers, and had to do that quite a lot when on patrol with Buffy and the others before he let them in on his little secret. If he were being honest with himself, Xander had missed being in the thick of things, and the prospect of flexing his slaying muscles, especially against demons of Bathory's calibre, was just too tempting to resist and the macho man inside him was influencing him slightly.

"What about me?" Daniel queried.

"You'll have a better resistance to them," Xander replied, "but while in human form you still run the risk of them at least entering your mind."

"It wouldn't be the first time I've had someone do that, and they didn't get very far," Daniel told him, and smiled slightly as he remembered Jack once saying that he was simply too stubborn to be affected by something like that, "but I'm guessing that you'd prefer me to revert to my ascended form when I want to rest."

"It would be safer," Xander told him, aware that Daniel still had negative connotations over that particular form, but his concern for his friend's safety was his primary concern. "You should be okay while awake, but it would be when you're asleep that you would be most susceptible, so reverting to your ascended form would be best when you want to rest up."

"So, we're just going to rest up here til daybreak?" Blade asked, his tone clearly indicating he did not like that plan. "I don't like sitting around on my ass."

"I'm not surprised, given how bony it is," Xander retorted, forcing a bark of laughter out of Whistler, "but I don't remember saying anything about just sitting around. I want to take a look around the immediate area, just to make sure there aren't any nasty surprises waiting for us, but before we do that, we need to set up camp, so lets get started."

* * *

Setting up the tents and other equipment didn't take long with four mystically enhanced people on hand, and while it wasn't exactly the Ritz, it would certainly do for the 2-3 days Xander expected their mission would take. Of course, it didn't hurt that Xander had been able to 'modify' the tents to be far more spacious and sturdy than they would otherwise be, as while he, Leo and Daniel had experience of living rough, neither Blade nor Whistler looked the type to enjoy the great outdoors that much.

The next thing on the agenda had been to place wards around the tents, vehicles, and the surrounding area to ensure that nothing got in without their say so. Xander found it ironic that he would be using the same type of wards to keep Bathory and the other demons out of their little encampment that they relied on to keep themselves protected, although he modified his so that they wouldn't be able to enter through **any** means without consent.

Once Xander was satisfied the camp was secure, it was decided between the quintet that they would patrol in four sectors, leaving Whistler behind to act as the communications centre. He had grumbled about it, moaning that he was being left behind, but Xander assured him that there would be plenty enough vampires and other demons around when they reached Bran Castle to go around, and that he still needed another day to fully get over the effects of being at the tender mercies of the vamps for the last two years.

Yes, Daniel had fixed the physical signs of his captivity, but Whistler was still getting to grips with the mental and emotional aftermath of existing as something he loathed with a passion. There was no need to force him back onto the front lines, especially as the next couple of nights would be eventful to say the least.

What had ended the conversation was Xander's presentation to Whistler of a heavy duty solution to the demons that could rear their ugly heads; a modified M79 grenade launcher that, instead of being a single shot, took cartridges containing six explosive rounds blessed by Xander himself. It would be overkill for regular vamps, and due to it's power it had to be mounted on a frame for Whistler to use so he wouldn't get thrown back by the recoil, but it would certainly make the nasties roaming around these mountains think twice before attempting to attack him.

Whistler's eyes had positively glowed when he'd seen the weapon, and any protests he'd been making about being left behind died on his lips the moment the deceptively light weapon was in his hands. Before Xander left, he'd warned Whistler about the kickback it would have when fired, even with it was mounted on the frame, and had asked him to only use it if he had to, as the noise it would make would definitely draw the attention of the local wildlife and there was no need to broadcast their location unless necessary.

Of the four remaining warriors, it was decided that they would each head in a different direction and meet back at camp in an hour. Both Xander and Leo knew that Piper would have their balls for breakfast if she ever found out what her husband was going to be doing, despite the fact he was more than capable of fending for himself, so it had been agreed to keep it to themselves, although with the whipping sounds Blade made when they'd talked about it he would be having some fun at the Whitelighter's expense.

Piper seemed to forget that Leo had actually been a soldier in the army during World War II, and had been a Whitelighter longer than she had been alive. He might not be as skilled a fighter as Xander or Blade, but he was more than capable of holding his own in battle. He was even better equipped now that Xander was his boss, as the Elders always frowned upon Whitelighters taking an active role in the fight, even when protecting their charges. It had infuriated Leo on more than one occasion when he'd had to hold back from helping Piper and the others more when they were up against the demon of the week, knowing that he would be punished for it.

Leo had gone North, Daniel South, Blade East, which left Xander with West. That had suited Xander quite well, as he had a feeling that one of the other people he was on the lookout for was close by, and in that general direction.

James had been on the Powers radar for some time now, far longer than many would expect. There weren't many people, at least on Earth, that knew just how old Mr Howlett was, although Marvel got it close, give or take a century or two. There were a couple of Powers that had been annoyed when the comic firm had used him as the basis of one of their characters, as it had alienated James enough to keep him out of the Champion business right at the time they thought he was finally ready.

Personally Xander was glad of it, as that character had been one of his favourite X-Men, and had felt fer more real to him than many of the others. He did know however that mentioning the comics would not get himself into James' good books, as he wasn't entirely happy with how they made him look. Not that Xander blamed James for that opinion, given that he was a good foot taller than his comic book counterpart, would make Mr. Universe feel inadequate, and would rather walk around buck naked than wear the yellow and blue Spandex costume they had Wolverine in.

After bidding his farewell to the others, they all went their separate ways.

* * *

Leo was bored, which surprised him a little, given the way his life had been the past few years. He was also feeling a little nostalgic, as it had been a long time since he had been on patrol with a rifle in his hands. Normally, firearms were next to useless when dealing with demons, but as a Whitelighter any weapon he wielded became blessed, and therefore was more effective against them.

He had on more than one occasion thought about using them when helping Piper and the others out, in spite of what the Elders would have done to him afterwards, but knew that the sisters would not be best pleased with him, and despite the fact it would be his decision not theirs, he didn't need the constant arguments and comments that would come from doing so.

It was a shame really, as even after fifty years, the feel of a rifle in his hands was a comfort to him. Of course, the P90 he was carrying now was a far cry from his trusty M1 he'd used during the war, but the feeling was the same. While he had been a medic during the war and not on the front lines so to speak, he had learned just like every other serviceman that his rifle wasn't just a weapon, it was also his friend.

The feeling had diminished in the half century since his death, but even now the feel of a rifle in his hands still gave him a sense of reassurance that had gotten him through more than one life and death experience. Leo chuckled as he imagined Piper's retort to that; 'it didn't help you through **every** life and death experience.'

A sudden whoosh of sound, coupled with a 'ping' on his senses, caused Leo to snap out of his thoughts, and he stopped in his tracks and looked up. Two winged... creatures, which to him looked remarkably like the gargoyles from the Disney cartoon, flew overhead in a circle, and Leo knew that they had already spotted him. From the way they felt on his senses, he knew that they were definitely not on the same side, and could tell that they were working out a mode of attack. The trees were close together, making it difficult for them to manoeuvre below the tree line, at least while they were in the air, and that was proven a moment later as he watched them swoop down through a gap in the trees and land about thirty feet away from him.

By that point, Leo had already started to move away from the two gargoyle like demons, biding himself some time to work out how, or even if, he would be able to deal with them. His experience with these types of demons was not that good, as most demons that went after his charges, particularly those that targeted the Charmed ones, all looked human unless they allowed their demonic visage to come through. Also, most demons in the service of The Source preferred to attack from a distance, using energy attacks instead of physical ones.

The fact that they hadn't fired at him from the sky showed him they didn't have that ability, and from their build he guessed they probably ripped their enemies apart. Leo was kind of attached to his body, and would prefer it to remain the way it was, so if possible he'd prefer to make sure they didn't get close enough to find out whether his theory was correct or not.

Leo wasn't overly concerned about his situation, it was just that he was out of practise in the down and dirty fighting he was going to need to employ, which caused him to be a little more cautious than he probably should. One thing he didn't want to do was call on the others for assistance, at least not yet, as he wanted to prove to them, and to himself, that he could handle himself in a combat situation. That wasn't to say he was too proud to ask for help if he needed it, but he but he would only do so if he actually **needed** it, not just because it would make things easier.

Leo could sense that his pursuers were gaining on him quite rapidly, despite his rapid pace; one was on the ground following him on foot, and the other one was jumping from tree to tree. Leo knew his best chance was to ensure they couldn't gang up on him and decided that now was as good a time as any to show them just who they were dealing with. Trusting his senses to guide him, Leo span round suddenly and fired a quick burst at the demon in the trees, hearing a scream of agony for his efforts to prove that he had at least slowed it down, and was then only just able to duck under the lunge the other made for him.

As he could still sense both of them, Leo knew he hadn't been lucky enough to kill the gargoyle, which meant that he would need to at least incapacitate the one attacking him now quickly before the other one could join in. To that end, Leo decided to forego the P90, the gargoyle being too close for it to be effective anyway, and would instead rely on his personal abilities, and knew that for this to work he would not be able to hold back like he would normally do. It helped that they were well away from innocents, and that collateral damage would be minimal, as it meant didn't have that niggling voice at the back of his head telling him to be careful.

As he began to stop just evading or blocking the blows the gargoyle was sending his way and actively fight back, Leo started to allow his power to flow through him, and his body soon began to glow, a glow that steadily increased as he continued to battle the gargoyle. The two were soon trading blows at an incredible rate, and while Leo didn't have the martial arts background that many fighters utilised, he was still able to hold his own, which was helped by the gargoyle using a similar smashmouth style. As the glow emanating from Leo increased in intensity, the demon began to growl in pain at it came into contact with him, and soon found it harder and harder to even remain close enough to attack the Whitelighter.

Leo quickly turned that to his advantage, as the few blows that the gargoyle had managed to get through his defence quite frankly hurt like hell, and he wanted to end the battle before the demon did too much, or when it realised what he was doing, turn and run. He unsheathed the combat sword he'd brought with him, at Xander's insistence, and went to decapitate the gargoyle, but instead only managed removed one of its arms at the elbow, as it managed to twist its body at the last moment. The blow had jarred Leo quite a lot, as the gargoyle felt like it was actually made of stone, and from the way the sword looked, it might not last as long as he would have liked.

Luckily for him, the gargoyle didn't manage the feat a second time, and Leo was reminded why having the demons vanquished at a distance had its advantages, when he was covered in its remains as it exploded, and was surprised when he was actually blown back a couple of steps from the ferocity of the blast.

Leo didn't have time to bemoan his current state, as the second gargoyle had chosen that very moment to blind-side him, and landed a thunderous blow to his head that sent him sailing through the air and crash into a tree fifteen feet away with enough force to crack it. Before he had a chance to recover, the gargoyle landed a second blow to Leo's stomach, which then forced him **through **the tree, where he then bounced and tumbled along the ground.

Leo cursed himself for letting his guard down, especially against something as deadly as the demon he was facing, and it was more luck than judgement that allowed him to dodge a third blow, as he had rolled onto his front just as the gargoyle had brought its foot down where his head had been.

Luckily, Leo was made of sterner stuff than most, otherwise he was sure he wouldn't be alive right now to make any sort of comeback, and as he got back to his feet, having dodged and/or blocked several more blows in the process, he decided that he wouldn't allow the gargoyle time to find out just how much punishment he could actually take. Leo wasn't unscathed, far from it in fact; he could feel the blood dripping down his face from the gash he'd received from the initial blow, three more gashes ran across his abdomen from its claws, and he was sure that more than one of his ribs were either cracked or broken, but if he had been 'just' human he'd now be the demon's midnight snack.

Leo quickly rescinded the glow that he'd been emitting, and then began to focus that energy into a single point in the palm of his right hand. It wasn't something the he'd done before, but his P90 had been mangled when he'd crashed into the tree and was now better used as a set square, and his sword was nowhere to be seen, having lost it during his unscheduled flight, so he had little option. Leo waited until the gargoyle was within striking range and then released the energy at it; instead of it hitting the demon, it was instead absorbed into its body.

After a moment, the demon began to scream in unparalleled agony as the heavenly energy Leo had transferred to him reacted with it and began to literally rip it apart at the cellular level. It wasn't the way Leo would ever want to kill another being, not only because of the prolonged and painful way it did it, but also because it felt wrong to use his power in such a destructive way, but he'd little other option given the circumstances. after about ten seconds, cracks of light appeared in its skin, and after one last blood curdling scream, the gargoyle followed its friend and exploded.

Leo couldn't sense any other dangers in the area, something he was more than glad about, so he decided to deal with his injuries before heading back and letting the others know what had happened. Like with Daniel, Leo always found it harder to heal himself than it was to heal others, but he eventually managed to fix what had been broken during the battle and, after retrieving his mangled rifle and sword, returned to base.

He also made a mental note to never complain about being bored again.

* * *

Xander had been going at a fair clip since leaving the camp, following his instincts that James was in the general direction he was travelling, and had been so focussed on his search that he had despatched the three vampires stupid enough to try and ambush him without even pausing his stride. He did, however, take note that those vampires seemed to have leathery wings, and were far less humanoid in appearance than a regular bloodsucker.

As the feeling grew stronger, Xander slowed his pace down, but still made no attempt to try and hide his presence, at least not physically. He still kept a tight reign on his power signature, which was becoming more than a little tiresome, especially as it wasn't something he was used to. He'd never had to hold back before his death, one of the perks of being a Savox demon, and hadn't realised just how taxing it would be to keep himself off of the radar.

It was like pretending not to have the use of one of his arms, and then stepping into the ring against Muhammad Ali, Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson when they were all at their best. You might be able to resist using that other arm for a while, but the temptation would grow with ever passing second and with every blow your opponents landed.

Xander knew that he might in fact be holding back more than he needed to, but until things were a little more organised he couldn't chance finding out. He just hoped that it wouldn't take too much longer to set things in motion.

As Xander came to a small clearing, no larger than his adoptive parents back yard, Xander stopped in the centre and then slowly turned around in a circle once, his arms outstretched, as though he were displaying himself to someone.

"Good evening, Mr Howlett, my name is Xander Harris," he greeted the forest calmly, knowing that he was being watched by the man in question, and had been for a while.

A shape, almost completely obscured by shadow, dropped down about five feet beside him, a low menacing growl coming from it. "How do you know my name, bub, and why shouldn't I skewer you like a kebab?" he asked, and Xander then heard the distinctive sound of James' bone claws popping out from between his knuckles.

Popping wasn't the best word to describe it; it didn't sound like the clean sound depicted in the comic books or films, instead it was the sound of flesh being torn as the bony protrusions forced their way out from his forearms through his hands, and Xander could smell the blood that had flowed like a river from the six wounds for a moment or two before James' healing ability took care of it.

"Well, the second part is easy to answer; I have done nothing to warrant such a response from you," Xander replied, his tone unwavering. He had nothing to fear from James, even if he decided to try anything, but he saw no reason to antagonise the man without cause, he'd learned his lesson with Blade. "I am well aware that you would have no qualms in following up on your threat, although I cannot say you'd be very successful," Xander went on with a small smile, "but you are not in the habit of taking such actions without cause. As for the first part of your question, I know your name because it is my job to know the names of the Champions of Earth, of which you are one whether you like it or not."

"If you work for those feathery faggots," he growled, his tone and words letting Xander know he was not enamoured with his fellow Powers, "I'll tell you the same I told the last guy they sent; I take orders from no one."

"That's not entirely true, as you have been a soldier in almost every war America has been involved in, including the War of Independence, but I don't blame you for not wanting to work for, or with, the people that came to 'talk' with you represented, even though I am now a member," Xander replied, and James had little option but to nod in acceptance of that.

As Xander had said, James had been a soldier many times, and a good one at that, and knew there were times when following the orders of a superior officer was necessary, but he had never been conscripted, having always volunteered, and didn't like his choices being taken away.

"There's been a shake up of sorts upstairs," Xander told him when it was clear James wasn't going to speak, "and they've all been told that the people who put their lives on the line to keep this world turning should be treated with respect not disdain."

"My answer's the same," James growled.

"That's fine with me, as I'm not here to order you around, but I would like to request your help," Xander told him, knowing that his assistance would be useful, if not invaluable, the next couple of days.

James looked at Xander for several long moments, using his instincts honed over the last few centuries to detect whether the man, if he was a man at all, was on the up and up. So far he hadn't been able to detect any deceit, something that had been coming off the people that had come to see him before in waves, so he decided to at least hear him out.

"You got sixty seconds," James told him after a moment or two, and then retracted his claws.

"I have a friend who's in trouble, and I'm here to get him out. You've been in these mountains for months, so you know the area far better than my friends and I do, so I would be grateful if you would help me, if not in the actual rescue, then at least in information on the lay of the land."

"I'm surprised you need any help," James said, "You and yours always made yourselves seem infallible."

"The only infallible one in the Big Boss, although I'm in the minority when it comes to admitting that," Xander replied, a smile tugging at his lips at the massive understatement of his last statement. "My knowledge of this region is older than you are," he went on, "and even I'm smart enough to know that things change after almost six hundred years. Also, I'm sure you're more aware of who, and what, we'll be facing, and could provide invaluable information on their strengths and weaknesses, beyond the obvious."

To be honest, Xander was buttering up James a little there, as whether he knew all the information they required or not, only Bathory could be a problem to him, and even then not much of one when push came to shove. That's not to say that he was lying to James, as his information would be invaluable, if only to ensure that there would be less need for a direct confrontation, but he doubted that Blade could pass up the opportunity to test his skills against what was awaiting them even if they found a way to do so.

His main aim was to get James to understand what was going to happen to the world, and hopefully stoke his curiosity up enough to come with them. His battle experience, both conventional and demonic, would be a tremendous asset to their cause, not to mention that having another heavy hitter in the group would only help in the coming days and weeks.

James for his part was leaning towards agreeing to help Xander, if only to find out a little more about the man. Xander had acted very differently to the others that had tried to recruit him, and he knew that would be Xander's ultimate goal, despite what he'd told him. It seemed that Xander was at least giving him a choice over the whole thing, which was a tick in the plus column, but James was nowhere near ready to make a final decision on whether he was on the up and up or not.

Another factor was that he'd recently had a run in with the vamps that had probably captured his friend and had come off worse, which a five on one situation would do to someone. Things would have gotten a lot worse had he not had a spot of luck when the cloud cover lightened considerably for a few minutes, giving him the opportunity to make his 'tactical withdrawal'. James had been thinking of ways to garner a little payback, and it seemed that he'd just been given the chance to do just that.

"Alright," James began, retracting his claws, "I'll help you."

"Thank you," Xander said sincerely, knowing that the biggest hurdle regarding James was now over. He wouldn't have agreed to help if he thought Xander to be untrustworthy, which meant he would be more amenable to helping further down the line as well. "I don't know about your accommodations," he went on, "but you're more than free to join us at our camp."

"I said I'd help, I didn't say I trusted you yet," James replied. "I'll be at your camp at sun up."

With that, James turned and walked off, disappearing into the night. Xander was impressed, as if it weren't for his ability giving what many would see as an unfair advantage, he doubted he'd be able to spot him at all, at least not without a performing a locator spell first.

The meeting had gone better than Xander had hoped, as they hadn't come to blows, and with James' agreement to help rescue Oz, it gave Xander the opportunity to persuade him to join the fight. James would have eventually joined in anyway no doubt, if his track record was anything to go by, but by the time everything became public knowledge, it would probably be too late for him to be in a place where he could truly make a difference. This way, he would be at ground zero, where his contribution could mean the difference between victory and defeat.

Xander glanced at his watch and realised that the hour was almost up, so he turned and began making his way back to camp, not wanting to worry the others, well Leo and Daniel at least.

Xander was under no illusion about Blade or Whistler's opinion of him, and was well aware that neither one would shed a tear at his passing, and knew that was his own fault. That was something else he hoped would improve the next day or so, as he'd found that life and death situations seemed to condense down the bonding process quite considerably.

He had a feeling that tomorrow would be an eventful day, he just wasn't sure whether those events would be in his favour or not.

_**'Damn, I missed this,'**_ he thought to himself with a small smile, before breaking into a run to get back to camp before his hour was up.


End file.
